LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  Of 
CALIFORNIA 

SAN  WEGO 


(£l|nrl*5  (S0toctrh  Jftrift. 


u 


THE   LIFE   OF   HENRY   DRUMMOND 


THE    LIFE 


OF 


HENRY    DRUMMOND 


BY 

GEORGE   ADAM   SMITH 


WITH  PORTRAIT 


NEW   YORK 

DOUBLEDAY  &   McCLURE   COMPANY 
1898 


COPYRIGHT,  1898,  BY 
DOUBLEDAY  &  McCLURE  COMPANY. 


NortaontJ 
J.  8.  Cnihing  fc  Co.  —  Berwick  &  Smith 
Norwood  Man.  U.S.A. 


Co  $ts  JHotfjer 


PREFACE 

IN  the  preparation  of  this  volume  I  have  received 
generous  help  from  many  friends,  who  have  placed 
at  my  disposal  their  memories  of  Henry  Drummond 
and  their  collections  of  his  letters;  or  who  have 
further  assisted  by  their  counsel  on  points  of  diffi- 
culty, and  by  their  careful  revision  of  several  of  the 
chapters.  I  am  especially  indebted  to  Mr.  James 
Drummond,  who  arranged  his  brother's  papers  and 
furnished  many  details  of  information. 

As  to  the  letters  which  are  quoted  in  the  volume, 
I  have  to  explain  that  the  names  of  those  to  whom 
they  were  addressed  have  been  given,  for  the  most 
part,  only  where  this  was  rendered  necessary  by  the 
allusions  which  the  letters  contain. 

In  a  life  so  crowded  with  interests  and  activities, 
some  facts  have  doubtless  been  overlooked.  A  few 
of  these,  which  appeared  too  late  to  be  put  in  their 
proper  chapters,  have  been  gathered  together  in  an 
Appendix. 

In  the  quoted  material  the  round  marks  of  paren- 
thesis and  their  contents  belong  to  the  original; 
what  is  enclosed  in  square  brackets  has  been  added. 

COILLEBHROCHAIN,    PERTHSHIRE, 

September,  1898. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I 


MM 

AS  WE  KNEW  HIM      ,  .  I 


CHAPTER  II 

SCHOOL  AND  COLLEGE l8 

CHAPTER  III 

PREPARATION  FOR  THE  MINISTRY 39 

CHAPTER  IV 

THE  GREAT  MISSION.     1873-1875 58 

CHAPTER  V 

BACK  TO  COLLEGE 109 

CHAPTER  VI 

SCIENCE  AND  RELIGION  .      1877-1883 129 

CHAPTER  VII 

DIARIES  OF   TRAVEL.  —  I.   THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS    .  .  .  .165 

CHAPTER  VIII 

DIARIES   OF   TRAVEL.  —  II.    EAST   CENTRAL   AFRICA.  .  .  .      190 

be 


X  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER   IX 

PACK 

THE  FAME  OF  NATURAL  LAW 228 

CHAPTER  X 

EVOLUTION  AND  REVELATION 244 

CHAPTER  XI 
1884-1890 264 

CHAPTER  XII 

THE  STUDENT  MOVEMENT,   1884-1894 318 

CHAPTER  XIII 

THE  AMERICAN   COLLEGES — 1887 368 

CHAPTER  XIV 

AUSTRALIA  AND   THE  AUSTRALIAN   COLLEGES — 1890         .  .  .      386 

CHAPTER  XV 

DIARIES  OF  TRAVEL.  —  III.    THE  NEW   HEBRIDES       ....      4O2 

CHAPTER  XVI 
1891-1894         ...  ...    439 

CHAPTER  XVII 

THE  ASCENT  OF  MAN 458 

CHAPTER  XVIII 

BOYS  AND  THE  BOYS'  BRIGADE 473 


CONTENTS  XI 

CHAPTER  XIX 

PAGE 

THE  END 496 

APPENDIX   I 

ADDRESSES  TO  THE  STUDENTS  OF  EDINBURGH  UNIVERSITY  IN    JAN- 
UARY,  FEBRUARY,   AND   MARCH,    1890 503 

APPENDIX   II 

ADDENDA 533 

INDEX   . 535 


' .  .  .  By  a  fine  gentleman,  I  mean  a  man  completely  qualified  as  well 
for  the  service  and  good,  as  for  the  ornament  and  delight,  of  society. 
When  I  consider  the  frame  of  mind  peculiar  to  a  gentleman,  I  suppose  it 
graced  with  all  the  dignity  and  elevation  of  spirit  that  human  nature  is 
capable  of.  To  this  I  would  have  joined  a  clear  understanding,  a  reason 
free  from  prejudice,  a  steady  judgment,  and  an  extensive  knowledge. 
When  I  think  of  the  heart  of  a  gentleman,  I  imagine  it  firm  and  intrepid, 
void  of  all  inordinate  passions,  and  full  of  tenderness,  compassion,  and 
benevolence.  When  I  view  the  fine  gentleman  with  regard  to  his  man- 
ners, methinks  I  see  him  modest  without  bashfulness,  frank  and  affable 
without  impertinence,  obliging  and  complaisant  without  servility,  cheerful 
and  in  good  humour  without  noise.  These  amiable  qualities  are  not  easily 
obtained,  neither  are  there  many  men  that  have  a  genius  to  excel  this  way. 
A  finished  gentleman  is  perhaps  the  most  uncommon  of  all  the  great 
characters  in  life.  Besides  the  natural  endowments  with  which  this  dis- 
tinguished man  is  to  be  born,  he  must  run  through  a  long  series  of  educa- 
tion. Before  he  makes  his  appearance  and  shines  in  the  world,  he  must 
be  principled  in  religion,  instructed  in  all  the  moral  virtues,  and  led  through 
the  whole  course  of  the  polite  arts  and  sciences.  He  should  be  no  stranger 
to  courts  and  to  camps ;  he  must  travel  to  open  his  mind,  to  enlarge  his 
views,  to  learn  the  policies  and  interests  of  foreign  states  as  well  as  to 
fashion  and  polish  himself  and  to  get  clear  of  national  prejudices,  of  which 
every  country  has  its  share.  To  all  these  more  essential  improvements  he 
must  not  forget  to  add  the  fashionable  ornaments  of  life,  such  as  are  the 
languages  and  the  bodily  exercises  most  in  vogue ;  neither  would  I  have 
him  think  even  dress  itself  beneath  his  notice.' 

xiii 


CHAPTER   I 

AS  WE   KNEW   HIM 

IT  is  now  eighteen  months  since  Henry  Drummond 
died  —  time  enough  for  the  fading  of  those  fond  extrav- 
agances into  which  fresh  grief  will  weave  a  dead  friend's 
qualities.  And  yet,  I  suppose,  there  are  hundreds  of 
men  and  women,  who  are  still  sure  —  and  will  always 
be  sure  —  that  his  was  the  most  Christlike  life  they  ever 
knew.  In  that  belief  they  are  fortified  not  only  by 
the  record  of  the  great  influence  which  God  gave  him 
over  men,  for  such  is  sometimes  misleading;  but  by 
the  testimony  of  those  who  worked  at  his  side  while 
he  wielded  it ;  and  by  the  evidence  of  the  friends  who 
knew  him  longest  and  who  were  most  intimately  ac- 
quainted with  the  growth  of  his  character. 

In  his  brief  life  we  saw  him  pass  through  two  of 
the  greatest  trials  to  which  character  can  be  exposed. 
We  watched  him,  our  fellow-student  and  not  yet 
twenty-three,  surprised  by  a  sudden  and  a  fierce  fame. 
Crowds  of  men  and  women  in  all  the  great  cities  of 
our  land  hung  upon  his  lips,  innumerable  lives  opened 
their  secrets  to  him,  and  made  him  aware  of  his  power 
over  them.  When  his  first  book  was  published,  he, 
being  then  about  thirty-three,  found  another  world  at 
his  feet ;  the  great  of  the  land  thronged  him ;  his 
social  opportunities  were  boundless  ;  and  he  was  urged 
by  the  chief  statesman  of  our  time  to  a  political  career. 
This  is  the  kind  of  trial  which  one  has  seen  wither 
some  of  the  finest  characters,  and  distract  others  from 


2  HENRY   DRUMMOND 

the  simplicity  and  resolution  of  their  youth.  He 
passed  through  it  unscathed:  it  neither  warped  his 
spirit  nor  turned  him  from  his  accepted  vocation  as  a 
teacher  of  religion. 

Again,  in  the  end  of  his  life,  he  was  plunged  to  the 
opposite  extreme.  For  two  long  years  he  not  only 
suffered  weakness  and  excruciating  pain,  but  what 
must  have  been  more  trying  to  a  spirit  like  his, 
accustomed  all  his  manhood  to  be  giving,  helping, 
and  leading,  he  became  absolutely  dependent  upon 
others.  This  also  he  bore  unspoiled,  and  we  who  had 
known  him  from  the  beginning  found  him  at  the  end 
the  same  humble,  unselfish,  and  cheerful  friend  whom 
we  loved  when  we  sat  together  on  the  benches  at 
college. 

Perhaps  the  most  conspicuous  service  which  Henry 
Drummond  rendered  to  his  generation  was  to  show 
them  a  Christianity  which  was  perfectly  natural.  You 
met  him  somewhere,  a  graceful,  well-dressed  gentle- 
man, tall  and  lithe,  with  a  swing  in  his  walk  and  a 
brightness  on  his  face,  who  seemed  to  carry  no  cares, 
and  to  know  neither  presumption  nor  timidity.  You 
spoke  and  found  him  keen  for  any  of  a  hundred 
interests.  He  fished,  he  shot,  he  skated  as  few  can, 
he  played  cricket ;  he  would  go  any  distance  to  see 
a  fire  or  a  football  match.  He  had  a  new  story,  a 
new  puzzle,  or  a  new  joke  every  time  he  met  you. 
Was  it  on  the  street?  He  drew  you  to  watch  two 
message  boys  meet,  grin,  knock  each  other's  hats  off, 
lay  down  their  baskets  and  enjoy  a  friendly  chaffer  of 
marbles.  Was  it  in  the  train  ?  He  had  dredged  from 
the  bookstall  every  paper  and  magazine  that  was 
new  to  him ;  or  he  would  read  you  a  fresh  tale  of  his 
favourite,  Bret  Harte.  '  Had  you  seen  \htApostle  of 
the  Tules ;  or  Frederic  Harrison's  article  in  the  Nine- 


AS  WE  KNEW   HIM  3 

teenth  Century  on  "  Ruskin  as  a  Master  of  English 
Prose,"  or  Q's  Conspiracy  aboard  the  Midas,  or  the 
"  Badminton  "  Cricket  ? '  If  it  was  a  rainy  afternoon 
in  a  country  house,  he  described  a  new  game,  and 
in  five  minutes  everybody  was  in  the  thick  of  it. 
If  it  was  a  children's  party,  they  clamoured  for  his 
sleight-of-hand.  He  smoked,  he  played  billiards ; 
lounging  in  the  sun,  he  could  be  the  laziest  man 
you  ever  saw. 

If  you  were  alone  with  him,  he  was  sure  to  find  out 
what  interested  you  and  listen  by  the  hour.  The  keen 
brown  eyes  got  at  your  heart,  and  you  felt  you  could 
speak  your  best  to  them.  Sometimes  you  would  remem- 
ber that  he  was  Drummond  the  evangelist,  Drummond 
the  author  of  books  which  measured  their  circulation  by 
scores  of  thousands.  Yet  there  was  no  assumption  of 
superiority  nor  any  ambition  to  gain  influence  —  noth- 
ing but  the  interest  of  one  healthy  human  being  in 
another.  If  the  talk  slipped  among  deeper  things,  he 
was  as  untroubled  and  as  unforced  as  before ;  there  was 
never  a  glimpse  of  a  phylactery  nor  a  smudge  of  unc- 
tion about  his  religion.  He  was  one  of  the  purest, 
most  unselfish,  most  reverent  souls  you  ever  knew,  but 
you  would  not  have  called  him  saint.  The  name 
he  went  by  among  younger  men  was  '  The  Prince ' ; 
there  was  a  distinction  and  a  radiance  upon  him  that 
compelled  the  title. 

That  he  had  '  a  genius  for  friendship '  goes  without 
saying,  for  he  was  rich  in  the  humility,  the  patience, 
and  the  powers  of  trust  which  such  a  genius  implies. 
Yet  his  love  had,  too,  the  rarer  and  more  strenuous 
temper  which  requires  '  the  common  aspiration,'  is 
jealous  for  a  friend's  growth,  and  has  the  nerve  to 
criticise.  It  is  the  measure  of  what  he  felt  friendship 
to  be  that  he  has  defined  religion  in  the  terms  of  it.. 


4  HENRY  DRUMMOND 

With  such  gifts,  his  friendship  came  to  many  men  and 
women  —  women,  to  all  of  whom  his  chivalry  and  to 
some  his  gratitude  and  admiration  were  among  the 
most  beautiful  features  of  his  character.  There  was 
but  one  thing,  which  any  of  his  friends  could  have  felt 
as  a  want  —  others  respected  it  as  the  height  and  crown 
of  his  friendship  —  and  that  was  this. 

The  longer  you  knew  him,  the  fact  which  most 
impressed  you  was  that  he  seldom  talked  about  him- 
self, and  no  matter  how  deep  the  talk  might  go,  never 
about  that  inner  self  which  for  praise  or  for  sympathy 
is  in  many  men  so  clamant,  and  in  all  more  or  less 
perceptible.  Through  the  radiance  of  his  presence 
and  the  familiarity  of  his  talk  there  sometimes  stole 
out,  upon  those  who  were  becoming  his  friends,  the 
sense  of  a  great  loneliness  and  silence  behind,  as  when 
you  catch  a  snow-peak  across  the  summer  fragrance 
and  music  of  a  Swiss  meadow.  For  he  always  kept 
silence  concerning  his  own  religious  struggles.  He 
never  asked  even  his  most  intimate  friends  for  sym- 
pathy nor  seemed  to  carry  any  wound,  however  slight, 
that  needed  their  fingers  for  its  healing. 

Now  many  people,  seeing  his  enjoyment  of  life  and 
apparent  freedom  from  struggle,  —  seeing  also  that 
spontaneousness  of  virtue  which  distinguished  him,  — 
have  judged  that  it  was  easy  for  the  man  to  be  good. 
He  appeared  to  have  few  cares  in  life  and  no  sorrows ; 
till  near  the  end  he  never,  except  in  Africa,  suffered  a 
day's  illness,  and  had  certainly  less  drudgery  than  falls 
to  most  men  of  his  strength  and  gifts.  So  they  were 
apt  to  take  his  religion  to  be  mere  sunshine  and  the 
effect  of  an  unclouded  sky.  They  classed  him  among 
those  who  are  born  good,  who  are  good  in  their  blood. 

We  may  admit  that,  by  his  birth,  Henry  Drummond 
did  inherit  virtue.  Few  men  who  have  done  good  in 


AS   WE   KNEW   HIM  5 

the  world  have  not  been  born  to  the  capacity  for  it. 
It  takes  more  than  one  generation  to  make  a  consum- 
mate individual,  and  the  life  that  leaps  upon  the  world 
like  a  cataract  is  often  fed  from  some  remote  and 
lonely  tarn  of  which  the  world  never  hears  the  name. 
Henry  Drummond's  forbears  were  men  who  lived  a 
clean  and  honest  life  in  the  open  air,  who  thought 
seriously,  and  had  a  conscience  of  service  to  the  com- 
munity. As  he  inherited  from  one  of  them  his  quick 
eye  for  analogies  between  the  physical  and  the  spir- 
itual laws  of  God,  so  it  was  his  parents  and  grand- 
parents who  earned  for  him  some  at  least  of  the  ease 
and  winsomeness  of  his  piety. 

But  such  good  fortune  exempts  no  man  from  a  share 
of  that  discipline  and  temptation  without  which  neither 
character  is  achieved,  nor  influence  over  others.  Our 
friend  knew  nothing  of  poverty  or  of  friendlessness ; 
till  his  last  illness  he  never  suffered  pain ;  and  death 
did  not  enter  his  family  till  he  was  thirty-six.  And, 
as  we  have  said,  he  was  seldom  overworked.  Yet  at 
twenty-two  he  had  laid  upon  him  the  responsibility 
of  one  of  the  greatest  religious  movements  of  our  time, 
and  when  that  was  over  there  followed  a  period  of 
uncertainty  about  his  future  vocation  of  which  he 
wrote :  '  I  do  not  know  what  affliction  is,  but  a  strange 
thought  comes  to  me  sometimes  that  "  waiting  "  has 
the  same  kind  of  effect  upon  one  that  affliction  has.' 
Nor  can  we  believe  that  he  was  spared  those  fiercer 
contests  which  every  son  of  man  has  to  endure  upon 
the  battle-field  of  his  own  heart.  No  one  who  heard 
his  addresses  upon  Temptation  and  Sin  can  doubt  that 
he  spoke  them  from  experience.  We  shall  find  one 
record,  which  he  has  left  behind,  of  his  sense  of  sin 
and  of  the  awful  peril  of  character. 

We  must  look,  then,  for  the  secret  of  his  freedom 


6  HENRY   DRUMMOND 

from  himself  in  other  directions,  and  I  think  we  find 
it  in  two  conspicuous  features  of  his  life  and  teaching. 

The  first  of  these  was  his  absorbed  interest  in 
others  —  an  interest  natural  to  his  unselfish  temper, 
but  trained  and  fed  by  the  opportunities  of  the  great 
mission  of  his  youth,  which  made  him  the  confidant 
of  so  many  hundreds  of  other  lives.  He  had  learned 
the  secret  of  St.  Paul  —  not  to  look  upon  his  own 
things,  but  also  upon  the  things  of  others — that  sov- 
ereign way  of  escape  from  the  self-absorption  and 
panic  which  temptation  so  often  breeds  in  the  best  of 
characters.  No  man  felt  temptation  more  fiercely,  or 
from  the  pressure  of  it  has  sent  up  cries  of  keener 
agony,  than  St.  Paul,  who  buffeted  his  own  body  and 
kept  it  under.  But  how  did  he  rise  above  the  despair  ? 
By  remembering  that  temptation  is  common  to  man, 
by  throwing  his  heart  upon  the  fight  which  men  were 
everywhere  waging  about  him,  and  by  forgetting  his 
own  fears  and  temptations  in  interest  and  sympathy 
for  others.  Such  souls  are  engrossed  spectators  of 
the  drama  of  life ;  they  are  purged  by  its  pity,  and 
ennobled  by  the  contemplation  of  its  issues.  But  a 
great  sense  of  honour,  too,  is  bred  within  them,  as 
they  spring  shoulder  to  shoulder  with  so  many  strug- 
gling comrades  —  a  sense  of  honour  that  lifts  them 
free  of  the  baser  temptations  —  and  they  are  too  inter- 
ested in  the  fate  of  their  fellows,  and  too  busy  with 
the  salvation  of  others,  to  brood  or  grow  morbid  about 
themselves.  Of  such  was  our  friend. 

But  Drummond  had  been  taught  another  secret  of 
the  Apostle.  St.  Paul  everywhere  links  our  life  in 
Christ  to  the  great  cosmic  processes.  For  by  Him 
were  all  things  created,  that  are  in  heaven,  and  that 
are  in  earth,  visible  and  invisible  ;  all  things  were  cre- 
ated by  Him  and  for  Him  .  .  .  and  ye  are  complete 


AS   WE  KNEW   HIM  7 

in  Him  who  is  the  head  of  every  principle  and  potency. 
To  Henry  Drummond  Christianity  was  the  crown  of 
the  evolution  of  the  whole  universe.  The  drama 
which  absorbed  him  is  upon  a  stage  infinitely  wider 
than  the  moral  life  of  man.  The  soul  in  its  battle 
against  evil,  in  its  service  for  Christ,  is  no  accident 
nor  exception,  thrown  upon  a  world  all  hostile  to  its 
feeble  spirit.  But  the  forces  it  represents  are  the 
primal  forces  of  the  Universe ;  the  great  laws  which 
modern  science  has  unveiled  sweeping  through  life 
from  the  beginning  work  upon  the  side  of  the  man 
who  seeks  the  things  that  are  above.  I  think  it  is 
in  this  belief,  informed  by  a  wide  knowledge  of  sci- 
ence, but  still  more  indebted  to  an  original  vision  of 
nature,  that,  at  least  in  part,  we  find  the  secret  of  the 
serenity,  the  healthy  objectiveness,  and  the  courage 
of  Henry  Drummond's  faith. 

It  was  certainly  on  such  grounds  that  in  the  prime 
of  his  teaching  he  sought  to  win  the  reason  of  men 
for  religion.  This  was  always  his  first  aim.  He  had 
an  ill-will  —  one  might  say  a  horror  —  at  rousing  the 
emotions  before  he  had  secured  the  conviction  of 
the  intellect.  I  do  not  mean  that  he  was  a  logician, 
for  his  logic  —  witness  the  introduction  to  his  first 
book  —  was  often  his  weak  point.  But  he  always 
began  by  the  presentation  of  facts,  by  the  unfolding 
of  laws,  and  trust  in  these  and  obedience  to  them  was, 
in  his  teaching,  religion.  He  felt  that  they  lay  open 
to  the  common  sense  and  natural  conscience  of  man. 
Those  were  blind  or  fools  who  did  not  follow  them. 
Yet  he  never  thought  of  these  laws  as  impersonal,  for 
the  greatest  were  love  and  the  will  that  men  should 
be  holy,  and  he  spoke  of  their  power  and  of  their 
tenderness  as  they  who  sing,  Underneath  are  the 
everlasting  arms.  He  had  an  open  vision  of  love 


8  HENRY  DRUMMOND 

wrought  into  the  very  foundation  of  the  world ;  all 
along  the  evolution  of  life  he  saw  that  the  will  of 
God  was  our  sanctification. 

In  these  two,  then,  his  interest  in  other  men  and 
his  trust  in  the  great  laws  of  the  universe,  we  find 
the  double  secret  of  that  detachment  —  that  distance 
from  self  at  which  he  always  seemed  to  stand. 

But  we  should  greatly  mistake  the  man  and  his 
teaching  if  we  did  not  perceive  that  the  source  and 
the  return  of  all  his  interest  in  men  and  of  all  his 
trust  in  God  was  Jesus  Christ.  Of  this  his  own 
words  are  most  eloquent :  — 

'  The  power  to  set  the  heart  right,  to  renew  the 
springs  of  action,  comes  from  Christ.  The  sense 
of  the  infinite  worth  of  the  single  soul,  and  the 
recoverableness  of  a  man  at  his  worst,  are  the 
gifts  of  Christ. 

'  The  freedom  from  guilt,  the  forgiveness  of  sins, 
come  from  Christ's  cross;  the  hope  of  immor- 
tality springs  from  Christ's  grave.  Personal 
conversion  means  for  life  a  personal  religion,  a 
personal  trust  in  God,  a  personal  debt  to  Christ, 
a  personal  dedication  to  His  cause.  These, 
brought  about  how  you  will,  are  supreme  things 
to  aim  at,  supreme  losses  if  they  are  missed.' 

That  was  the  conclusion  of  all  his  doctrine.  There 
was  no  word  of  Christ's  more  often  upon  his  lips  than 
this :  'Abide  in  Me  and  I  in  you,  for  without  Me  ye 
can  do  nothing' 

The  preceding  paragraphs  have  passed  impercep- 
tibly from  the  man  himself  to  his  teaching.  And  this 
is  right,  for  with  Henry  Drummond  the  two  were  one. 
So  far  as  it  be  possible  in  any  human  being,  in  him 


AS   WE   KNEW   HIM  9 

they  were  without  contradiction  or  discrepancy.  He 
never  talked  beyond  his  experience ;  in  action  he 
never  seemed  to  fall  behind  his  faith.  Mr.  Moody, 
who  has  had  as  much  opportunity  as  perhaps  any  man 
of  our  generation  in  the  study  of  character,  especially 
among  religious  people,  has  said :  '  No  words  of  mine 
can  better  describe  his  life  or  character  than  those  in 
which  he  has  presented  to  us  The  Greatest  Thing 
in  the  World.  Some  men  take  an  occasional  journey 
into  the  thirteenth  of  First  Corinthians,  but  Henry 
Drummond  was  a  man  who  lived  there  constantly, 
appropriating  its  blessings  and  exemplifying  its  teach- 
ings. As  you  read  what  he  terms  the  analysis  of 
love,  you  find  that  all  its  ingredients  were  interwoven 
into  his  daily  life,  making  him  one  of  the  most  lov- 
able men  I  have  ever  known.  Was  it  courtesy  you 
looked  for,  he  was  a  perfect  gentleman.  Was  it  kind- 
ness, he  was  always  preferring  another.  Was  it  hu- 
mility, he  was  simple  and  not  courting  favour.  It  could 
be  said  of  him  truthfully,  as  it  was  said  of  the  early 
apostles,  "  that  men  took  knowledge  of  him  that  he 
had  been  with  Jesus."  Nor  was  this  love  and  kindness 
only  shown  to  those  who  were  close  friends.  His  face 
was  an  index  to  his  inner  life.  It  was  genial  and 
kind,  and  made  him,  like  his  Master,  a  favourite  with 
children.  .  .  .  Never  have  I  known  a  man  who,  in 
my  opinion,  lived  nearer  the  Master  or  sought  to  do 
His  will  more  fully.' *  And  again :  '  No  man  has  ever 
been  with  me  for  any  length  of  time  that  I  did  not 
see  something  that  was  unlike  Christ,  and  I  often  see 
it  in  myself,  but  not  in  Henry  Drummond.  All  the 
time  we  were  together  he  was  a  Christlike  man  and 
often  a  rebuke  to  me.'2 

1  Record  of  Christian  Work,  May,  1897,  p.  129. 
*  Letter  to  the  Rev.  James  Stalker,  D.D. 


IO  HENRY   DRUMMOND 

With  this  testimony  let  us  take  that  of  Sir  Archi- 
bald Geikie,  D.C.L.,  F.R.S.,  the  Director-General  of  the 
Geological  Survey  of  the  United  Kingdom.  When  he 
became  the  first  Professor  of  Geology  in  Edinburgh, 
Drummond  was  his  first  student.  They  travelled  to- 
gether in  Great  Britain,  and  on  a  geological  expedition 
to  the  Rocky  Mountains,1  and  in  later  years  they 
met  at  intervals.  Sir  Archibald  had  therefore  every 
opportunity  of  judging  his  friend's  character,  and  this 
is  what  he  writes  of  him.  It  is  in  continuation  of 
some  reminiscences  which  will  be  quoted  later :  — 

'  In  later  years,  having  resigned  my  Professorship 
for  an  appointment  in  London,  I  met  him  much  more 
seldom.  But  he  came  to  see  me  from  time  to  time, 
always  the  same  gentle  and  kindly  being.  His  success 
never  spoiled  him  in  the  very  least  degree.  It  was  no 
small  matter  to  be  able  to  preserve  his  simplicity  and 
frankness  amidst  so  much  that  might  have  fostered 
vanity  and  insincerity  in  a  less  noble  nature  than  his. 
I  have  never  met  with  a  man  in  whom  transparent 
integrity,  high  moral  purpose,  sweetness  of  disposi- 
tion, and  exuberant  helpfulness  were  more  happily 
combined  with  wide  culture,  poetic  imagination,  and 
scientific  sympathies  than  they  were  in  Henry  Drum- 
mond. Most  deeply  do  I  grieve  over  his  early  death.' 

Now  there  was  one  portion  of  Christ's  spirit  and 
Christ's  burden  which  those  who  observed  Henry 
Drummond  only  in  his  cheerful  intercourse  with  men, 
upon  the  ways  of  the  world,  would  perhaps  deem  it 
impossible  that  he  should  have  shared.  His  first  re- 
ligious ministry  was  neither  of  books,  nor  of  public 
speech.  As  we  shall  see,  soon  after  he  had  read  to 
his  fellow-students  his  paper  on  '  Spiritual  Diagnosis,' 
in  which  he  blamed  the  lack  of  personal  dealing  as  the 

1  See  below,  chap.  vii. 


AS  WE  KNEW   HIM  I  I 

great  fault  of  the  organised  religion  of  his  time,  he  was 
drawn  to  work  in  the  inquiry  rooms  of  the  Revival 
of  1873-75.  And  in  these  he  dealt,  face  to  face,  with 
hundreds  of  men  and  women  at  the  crises  of  their  lives. 
When  that  work  was  over,  his  experience,  his  fidelity, 
and  his  sympathy  continued  to  be  about  him,  as  it 
were,  the  walls  of  a  quiet  and  healing  confessional, 
into  which  wounded  men  and  women  crept  from  the 
world,  dared 

'  To  unlock  the  heart  and  let  it  speak '  — 

dared  to  tell  him  the  worst  about  themselves.  It  is 
safe  to  say  that  no  man  in  our  generation  can  have 
heard  confession  more  constantly  than  Drummond 
did.  And  this  responsibility  about  which  he  was  ever 
as  silent  as  about  his  own  inner  struggles  was  a  heavy 
burden  and  a  sore  grief  to  him.  If  some  of  the  letters 
he  received  be  specimens  of  the  confidence  poured 
into  his  ears,  we  can  understand  him  saying,  as  he 
did  to  one  friend:  'Such  tales  of  woe  I've  heard  in 
Moody 's  inquiry  room  that  I  have  felt  I  must  go  and 
change  my  very  clothes  after  the  contact ; '  or  to  an- 
other, when  he  had  come  from  talking  privately  with 
some  students :  '  Oh,  I  am  sick  with  the  sins  of  these 
men  !  How  can  God  bear  it ! '  And  yet  it  is  surely 
proof  of  the  purity  of  the  man  and  of  the  power  of  the 
gospel  he  believed  in  that,  thus  knowing  the  human 
heart,  and  bearing  the  full  burden  of  men's  sins,  he 
should  nevertheless  have  believed  (to  use  his  own 
words)  '  in  the  recoverableness  of  a  man  at  his  worst,' 
and  have  carried  with  him  wherever  he  went  the  air 
of  health  and  of  victory. 

To  such  love  and  such  experience  there  naturally 
came  an  influence  of  the  widest  and  most  penetrating 
kind.  Very  few  men  in  our  day  can  have  touched  the 


12  HENRY   DRUMMOND 

springs  of  so  many  lives.  Like  all  his  friends,  I  knew 
that  hundreds  of  men  and  women  had  gone  to  him, 
and  by  him  had  been  inspired  with  new  hope  of 
their  betterment  and  new  faith  in  God.  But  even 
then  I  was  prepared  neither  for  the  quality  nor  for 
the  extent  of  influence  which  his  correspondence  re- 
veals. First  by  his  addresses  and  his  conversation, 
and  then  with  the  vastly  increased  range  which  his 
books  gave  him,  he  attracted  to  himself  the  doubting 
and  the  sinful  hearts  of  his  generation.  It  must  be 
left  to  the  other  chapters  of  this  biography  to  illustrate 
the  breadth  and  variety  of  the  power  both  of  himself 
and  of  his  teaching.  But  here  it  may  be  affirmed  with 
all  sobriety  that  his  influence  was  like  nothing  so  much 
as  the  influence  of  one  of  the  greater  mediaeval  saints 
—  who  yet  worked  in  a  smaller  world  than  he  and  with 
a  language  which  travelled  more  slowly.  Men  and 
women  sought  him  who  were  of  every  rank  of  life  and 
of  almost  every  nation  under  the  sun.  They  turned 
instinctively  to  him,  not  for  counsel  merely,  but  for 
the  good  news  of  God  and  for  the  inspiration  which 
men  seek  only  from  the  purest  and  most  loving  of 
their  kind.  He  was  prophet  and  he  was  priest  to 
hosts  of  individuals.  Upon  the  strength  of  his  per- 
sonality or  (if  they  did  not  know  him)  of  the  spirit 
of  his  writings,  they  accepted  the  weakest  of  his  logic, 
the  most  patent  of  his  fallacies.  They  claimed  from 
him  the  solution  of  every  problem.  They  brought 
him  alike  their  mental  and  their  physical  troubles. 
Surest  test  of  a  man's  love  and  holiness,  they  believed 
in  his  prayers  as  a  remedy  for  their  diseases  and  a 
sure  mediation  between  their  sinful  souls  and  God. 
It  is  with  a  certain  hesitation  that  one  asserts  so  much 
as  this,  yet  the  evidence  in  his  correspondence  is  in- 
dubitable ;  and  as  the  members  of  some  great  Churches 


AS   WE  KNEW   HIM  13 

are  taught  to  direct  their  prayers  to  the  famous  saints 
of  Christendom,  so  untaught  and  naturally,  as  we  shall 
see,  more  than  one  have  since  his  death  found  them- 
selves praying  to  Henry  Drummond. 

To  write  an  adequate  life  of  such  a  man  is  of  course 
an  impossibility ;  a  friend  has  said  it  would  be  '  like 
writing  the  history  of  a  fragrance.'  One  can  describe 
and  make  assertions  about  his  influence,  but  those  can 
hardly  appreciate  who  did  not  know  himself.  Indeed, 
this  volume  would  never  have  been  undertaken  —  both 
because  of  its  difficulty,  and  because  of  what  undoubt- 
edly would  have  been  his  own  wishes  on  the  point 
-  had  it  not  become  clear  to  his  relatives  and  friends 
that  the  life  of  one  who  exercised  a  saving  influence  on 
thousands  of  people  all  over  the  world  would,  in  the 
absence  of  an  authorised  biography,  be  attempted  by 
persons  who,  however  feelingly  they  might  write,  could 
convey  only  a  fragmentary  knowledge  of  their  subject. 

Nor  can  his  biographer  hope  to  satisfy  his  intimate 
friends,  men  and  women  of  all  stages  of  religious  expe- 
rience, of  many  schools  of  thought,  and  of  all  ranks 
and  callings  in  life,  to  whom  his  sympathy  and  versa- 
tility, as  well  as  the  pure  liberty  of  his  healthy  spirit, 
must  necessarily  have  shown  very  different  aspects 
of  his  character  and  opinions.  For  such,  all  that  a 
biographer  can  do  is  to  provide  pegs,  on  which  they 
may  hang,  and  perhaps  render  somewhat  more  stable 
and  balanced,  their  own  private  portraits  of  their 
friend. 

One  thing  is  obvious.  So  much  of  Drummond's 
best  work  was  done,  so  to  speak,  '  in  the  confessional,' 
upon  many  who  are  still  alive,  and  some  of  whom  are 
well  known  to  their  fellow-countrymen,  that  it  is  impos- 
sible to  describe  it  except  with  a  reserve  which  may 


14  HENRY  DRUMMOND 

appear  to  deprive  the  picture  of  life.  But,  although 
among  his  papers  material  exists  for  narratives  of  sin, 
and  even  of  crime,  of  moral  struggle,  of  conversion  and 
of  Christian  service,  of  the  most  thrilling  interest,  it  is 
the  duty  of  his  biographer  to  imitate  his  own  reticence, 
even  at  the  risk  of  disguising  the  depth  and  the  reality 
of  his  influence. 

But  the  biographer  of  Henry  Drummond  can  at 
least  describe  the  influences  which  moulded  him,  trace 
the  growth  of  his  character  and  the  development  of 
his  opinions,  and  give  a  record  of  the  actual  work  he 
did,  and  of  the  movements  which  he  started  or  en- 
forced. Among  the  first  of  these  the  religious  move- 
ment in  Great  Britain  from  1873  to  1875  stands 
supreme,  and  deserves  the  most  thorough  treatment. 
The  history  of  this  has  never  been  written.  The 
present  generation  do  not  know  how  large  it  was,  and 
with  what  results  upon  the  life  of  our  nation.  As  for 
Drummond,  it  made  him  the  man  he  was  in  his  prime : 
in  his  expertness  in  dealing  with  men,  in  his  power  as 
a  speaker,  nay,  even  in  some  principles  of  his  faith,  he 
is  inexplicable  without  it.  So  a  long  chapter  will  be 
devoted  to  the  movement  and  to  his  share  in  it. 

As  to  the  growth  or  change  of  his  opinions,  that 
also  it  is  needful  to  trace  in  detail,  not  only  that  we 
may  do  justice  to  himself,  but  because  certain  of  the 
lines  of  that  growth  follow  some  of  the  most  interest- 
ing religious  and  intellectual  developments  of  our 
time.  Here  was  a  young  man  trained  in  an  evan- 
gelical family,  and  in  the  school  of  the  older  orthodoxy, 
who  consecrated  his  youth  to  the  service  of  Christ, 
and  never  all  his  life  lost  his  faith  in  Christ  as  his  Lord 
and  Saviour,  or  in  Christ's  Divinity,  or  in  the  power  of 
His  Atonement,  but  who  grew  away  from  many  of  the 
doctrines  which,  when  he  was  young,  were  still  regarded 


AS  WE  KNEW  HIM  15 

by  the  Churches  as  equally  well  assured  and  indispen- 
sable to  the  creed  of  a  Christian :  such  as,  for  instance, 
belief  in  the  literal  inspiration  and  equal  divinity  of 
all  parts  of  the  Bible.  In  his  later  life  Drummond  so 
explicitly  avowed  his  adherence  to  an  interpretation 
of  Scripture  very  different  from  this,  that  it  is  not 
only  right  that  the  latter  should  be  described  in 
his  own  words  (hence  the  large  extracts  in  chap.  x. 
of  this  volume),  but  that  also  the  narrower  positions 
from  which  he  started  on  his  career  should  be  set 
plainly  before  us.  For  this  reason  I  have  recounted 
some  of  the  opinions  of  his  student  days  with  a  greater 
fulness  than  their  intrinsic  importance  would  warrant. 
The  story  of  his  growth  from  them  may  be  of  use 
to  the  many  students  whom  the  Biblical  criticism  of 
our  time  has  brought  face  to  face  with  similar  facts, 
problems,  and  issues. 

Parallel  to  this  change  in  his  views  of  Scripture  and 
contributory  to  it,  is  the  very  interesting  growth  of 
the  influence  wrought  upon  his  religious  opinions  by 
physical  science  and  that  discovery  of  natural  laws  in 
which  his  generation  has  been  so  active.  But  besides 
these  two  developments  there  is  a  third,  which  is  also 
characteristic  of  our  time.  To  Drummond,  in  his 
youth,  religion  was  an  affair  of  the  individual ;  he  was 
impatient  (if  such  a  temper  could,  at  any  time,  be  im- 
puted to  him)  with  the  new  attempts  in  Scotland  and 
England  to  emphasise  its  social  character.  It  is 
true  he  never  bated  by  one  jot  his  insistence  upon  the 
personal  origin  of  all  religion ;  yet  he  so  greatly 
extended  his  sympathy  and  his  experience,  he  so 
developed  the  civic  conscience,  as  to  become  one  of 
the  principal  exponents  in  our  day  of  the  social  duties 
of  religion.  Thus  his  career  is  typical  of  the  influence 
upon  the  older  Christian  orthodoxy  of  the  three  great 


1 6  HENRY   DRUMMOND 

intellectual  movements  of  our  time  —  historical  criti- 
cism, physical  science,  and  socialism  (in  the  broad  and 
unsectarian  meaning  of  that  much-abused  term). 

Again,  Henry  Drummond  was  a  traveller,  with 
keen  powers  of  observation,  a  scientific  training,  and 
a  great  sympathy  with  human  life  on  its  lowest  levels 
and  outside  edges.  He  visited  the  Far  West  of 
America  at  a  time  when  Indian  wars  were  still  com- 
mon and  the  white  man  was  represented  only  by 
soldiers,  hunters,  and  miners  of  gold.  He  visited 
Central  Africa  at  a  time  when  the  only  white  men 
there  were  missionaries  and  a  few  traders,  and  of 
that  region  he  made  practically  the  first  detailed  sci- 
entific examination.  He  visited  the  New  Hebrides, 
when  the  effects  of  Christianity  upon  the  savages  of 
these  islands  were  beginning  to  be  obvious;  he  bought 
clubs  and  poisoned  spears  from  men  who  were  still 
cannibals;  he  worshipped  with  those  who  had  been 
cannibals  and  were  now  members  of  his  own  church. 
Of  these  travels  it  is  only  of  the  second  that  he  has 
published  an  account.  Yet  his  notes  of  the  others  are 
often  as  interesting  and  always  as  careful.  I  have 
thought  it  right,  therefore,  to  incorporate  in  this  life 
of  him  a  transcription  of  these  notes,  and  to  supply 
from  his  African  diary  so  much  of  scientific  or  other 
human  interest  as  has  not  appeared  in  his  Tropi- 
cal Africa.  It  was  in  Africa  that  he  made  his  only 
original  contributions  to  science,  and  in  justice  to  these 
it  seems  right  to  give,  in  greater  detail  than  his  mod- 
esty allowed  to  appear  in  his  volume,  his  observations 
of  the  geology  of  the  African  continent. 

Finally,  Henry  Drummond  was  a  writer  of  books, 
which  brought  him  no  little  fame  in  the  world.  This 
biography  is  written  by  one  of  a  circle  of  life-long 
friends,  and  with  their  affections  upon  its  words;  yet 


AS   WE   KNEW   HIM  I'J 

it  was  among  them  that  some  of  his  books  received 
the  most  severe  criticism,  and  therefore  I  have  deemed 
it  not  inconsistent  with  the  spirit  of  the  biography  to 
introduce  an  adverse  judgment  upon  the  substance  of 
one  of  his  volumes.  As  to  the  style  in  which  all  are 
written,  if  the  saying  be  anywhere  true  that  the  style 
is  the  man,  it  is  true  here.  The  even  and  limpid 
pages  of  his  books  are  the  expression  of  his  equable 
and  transparent  temper.  And  as  we  have  seen  that 
his  character  was  the  outcome  of  a  genuine  discipline, 
so  we  shall  find  evidence  that  his  style  was  the  fruit  of 
hard  labour  and  an  unsparing  will. 

But  all  these  talents  and  experiences  were  only  parts 
of  a  rare  and  radiant  whole,  of  which  any  biography, 
however  fully  it  may  record  them,  can  with  them  all 
offer  only  an  imperfect  reflection.  So  complete  a  life 
happens  but  once  in  a  generation.  '  It  is  no  very  un- 
common thing,'  says  the  writer  \vhose  words  are  pre- 
fixed to  this  chapter,1  '  it  is  no  very  uncommon  thing 
in  the  world  to  meet  with  men  of  probity;  there  are 
likewise  a  great  many  men  of  honour  to  be  found. 
Men  of  courage,  men  of  sense,  and  men  of  letters  are 
frequent ;  but  a  true  fine  gentleman  is  what  one  seldom 
sees.  He  is  properly  a  compound  of  the  various  good 
qualities  that  embellish  mankind.  As  the  great  poet 
animates  all  the  different  parts  of  learning  by  the  force 
of  his  genius,  and  irradiates  all  the  compass  of  his 
knowledge  by  the  lustre  and  brightness  of  his  imagi- 
nation, so  all  the  great  and  solid  perfections  of  life 
appear  in  the  finished  gentleman,  with  a  beautiful 
gloss  and  varnish ;  everything  he  says  or  does  is  ac- 
companied with  a  manner,  or  rather  a  charm,  that 
draws  the  admiration  and  good-will  of  every  beholder.' 

1  Sir  Richard  Steele  in  the  Guardian,  No.  34. 


CHAPTER   II 

SCHOOL  AND  COLLEGE 

HENRY  DRUMMOND  came  of  a  family  resident  for 
some  generations  near  the  town  of  Stirling.  His  great- 
grandfather was  portioner  of  the  lands  of  Benthead, 
Bannockburn.  His  grandfather,  William  Drummond, 
was  a  land  surveyor  and  afterwards  a  nurseryman  at 
Coneypark.  He  appears  to  have  been  a  man  who 
thought  for  himself  on  matters  of  religion.  It  was 
among  some  notes  of  his,  upon  resemblances  be- 
tween the  laws  of  nature  and  those  of  the  spiritual 
life,  that  his  grandson,  after  the  publication  of  Natural 
Law  in  the  Spiritual  World,  discovered  a  remarkable 
anticipation  of  the  main  thesis  of  that  volume.1 
William  Drummond  had  eleven  sons.  Of  these 
Henry,  who  was  the  father  of  our  Henry,  became 
head  of  the  firm  of  William  Drummond  &  Sons,  seeds- 
men and  nurserymen  at  Stirling  and  Dublin.  One  of 
his  brothers  and  partners,  David,  resided  at  Dublin. 
Another  was  Peter,  who  established  the  Agricultural 
Museum  in  Stirling,  and  withdrew  from  the  firm  in 
order  to  give  his  energies  to  the  Stirling  Tract  Enter- 
prise, of  which  he  was  the  founder. 

Mr.  Henry  Drummond,  senior,  was  a  man  of  great 
worth.  '  He  was  fifty  years  of  age  before  he  taught 
in  a  Sabbath-school  or  opened  his  lips  in  public  on 
religion,'  but  from  that  time  onwards  he  was  in  the 
front  of  every  good  cause  in  Stirling.  He  was  a 

1  See  p.  153. 
18 


SCHOOL  AND   COLLEGE  19 

Justice  of  the  Peace,  President  of  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association,  chairman  or  director  of  most 
of  the  philanthropic  institutions  of  the  town,  and  an 
elder  in  the  Free  North  Church,  under  the  ministry 
of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Beith.  He  founded,  and  for  many 
years  conducted,  a  Sunday-school  at  Cambusbarron  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  his  home.  '  He  could  play  on 
an  audience  of  children  as  a  man  plays  on  an  instru- 
ment.' His  discipline  was  strict,  but  he  had  his  chil- 
dren's confidence.  By  his  contemporaries  he  was 
implicitly  trusted  for  his  probity  in  business,  his  fast 
friendship,  and  his  sagacious  counsel.  To  the  end  of 
a  long  life  his  character  remained  fresh  and  winsome. 
He  died  on  January  i,  1888. 

Mr.  Drummond  married  Miss  Jane  Blackwood  of 
Kilmarnock.  She  had  a  brother,  James  Blackwood, 
of  Gillsburn,  whose  attainments  in  science  deserve 
some  notice  here,  partly  for  their  own  worth,  and 
partly  because  of  their  resemblance  to  the  qualities 
and  pursuits  of  his  distinguished  nephew.  '  While 
still  a  youth  he  became  proficient  in  chemistry  and 
geology,  and  constructed  a  camera  obscura,  micro- 
scope, and  telescope.  Stands,  tubes,  and  lenses  were 
all  fashioned  by  himself.  He  was  one  of  the  earliest 
makers  of  daguerreotypes  in  Scotland.  In  later  years 
he  devoted  himself  to  the  study  of  petrology,  the 
science  of  the  constituents  of  rocks,  and  became,  next 
to  his  friend,  the  late  Professor  Heddle  of  St.  Andrews, 
the  chief  authority  on  that  subject  in  Scotland.  How 
many  will  remember  an  evening  spent  with  him  at 
Gillsburn,  when  the  grand  microscope  was  brought 
out  and  Mr.  Blackwood  showed  slices  of  rock  ground 
till  they  were  transparent.  How  instructive  it  was  to 
hear  him  explain  "  the  perpetual  motion  slides,"  in 
which  there  are  cavities  filled  with  fluid  and  tiny  air 


2O  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1851-57 

globules  that  move  to  vibrations  in  the  earth  so  slight 
that  our  senses  cannot  perceive  them!'1  Mr.  Black- 
wood  was  a  genial  and  enthusiastic  man,  with  the 
power  of  inspiring  young  people  both  in  the  study 
of  science  and  in  some  forms  of  religious  service. 
Like  his  nephew  he  possessed  the  gift  of  mesmerism. 
Henry,  when  he  was  young,  met  this  uncle  twice  or 
thrice  every  year,  but  was  not  directly  influenced  by 
him.  The  striking  resemblances,  both  of  gifts  and 
interests,  must  be  put  down  to  heredity. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Drummond  had  four  sons:  James, 
Henry,  Frederick,  who  died  young,  and  Patrick ;  and 
two  daughters,  Agnes  and  Jessie.  Henry  was  born 
in  Stirling  on  August  17,  1851.  His  father's  house 
was  then  No.  i  Park  Place,  the  house  next  to  Glen- 
elm,  which  afterwards  became  the  family  home,  and 
is  still  the  residence  of  his  mother.  The  houses  stand 
on  the  southern  side  of  the  King's  Park  and  look 
across  to  the  Rock  and  Castle.  The  park  was  the 
children's  playground.  James  and  Henry  were  sent 
first  to  a  ladies'  school,  and,  when  Henry  was  six  or 
seven,  to  the  High  School  of  Stirling,  where  he  re- 
mained till  he  was  twelve. 

At  that  time  the  High,  or  Grammar,  Schools  of 
Scotland  were  of  various  quality.  Those  of  the  larger 
towns  received  boys  from  nine  to  eleven,  and  sent 
them  to  the  university  at  sixteen  or  seventeen.  They 
gave  a  fair  education  in  classics,  English,  history, 
mathematics,  and  the  rudiments  of  French  and  Ger- 
man. Boys  meant  for  business  took  a  course  of  book- 
keeping, but  natural  science  was  almost  wholly  ignored. 
Some  of  the  schools  of  the  smaller  towns  competed 
successfully  with  those  of  the  larger  in  preparation 
for  the  university;  but  others,  taking  boys  at  six  or 

1  Abridged  from  a  notice  of  Mr.  Blackwood  by  the  Rev.  D.  Landsborough. 


JET.  1-6]  SCHOOL  AND   COLLEGE  2 1 

seven,  dismissed  them  at  twelve  or  thirteen  to  business 
or  to  the  more  advanced  schools,  with  a  few  exceptions 
whom  they  prepared  for  college.  There  was  no  gen- 
eral system.  Till  1859  the  universities  had  not  an  en- 
trance examination  in  Arts,  and  afterwards  one  only 
for  the  shortened  curriculum  of  three,  instead  of  four, 
years.  The  quality  of  the  school  depended  on  the 
character  of  the  headmaster,  and  varied  greatly  from 
place  to  place  and  from  time  to  'time.  At  the  close 
of  the  session,  a  university  professor  might  be  invited 
to  examine,  sometimes  orally,  sometimes  in  writing, 
but  the  examinations  were  often  loose. 

The  school  discipline  did  not  extend  beyond  the 
classes.  Preparation  was  done  at  home,  and  a  boy's 
habits  of  study  largely  depended  on  his  guardians.  In 
many  a  humble  home  in  Scotland,  after  the  day's  work 
was  done,  the  tired  parents,  or  an  aunt  or  a  big  sister, 
would  bravely  attack  the  Latin  grammar,  and  carry 
their  boy  through  his  daily  preparation.  When  Scot- 
land's debt  to  her  parish  and  burgh  schoolmasters  is 
being  celebrated,  I  love  to  think  of  those  even  more 
heroic  sacrifices  of  the  home.  They  were  given  with- 
out parade  or  the  feeling  that  there  was  anything  big 
about  them;  they  were  unknown  to  all  but  those  for 
whom  they  were  performed,  and  even  by  them  they 
were  often  forgotten. 

Nor  in  the  early  sixties  was  a  boy's  play  organised 
for  him  as  it  so  largely  is  to-day.  Yet  there  was  little 
danger  of  loafing.  A  day-school  boy  lives  in  no 
vacuum ;  at  home,  in  the  streets,  and  in  the  country 
around  there  are  a  hundred  healthy  interests  of  which 
boarding-schools  know  little.  In  Henry's  time  boys 
had  their  rounders,  '  Dully,'  a  rough  cricket,  and  a 
primitive  football ;  '  Cavey,'  '  Scots  and  English,' 
'  Thieves  and  Police,'  '  Corners,'  '  Bullyable',  and  other 


22  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1858-63 

running  games ;  sham  fights  and  sieges,  all  hard  and 
healthy  sports.  The  long  Saturday,  free  from  school 
discipline,  and  often  from  the  discipline  of  home,  has 
always  made  for  good  in  the  life  of  a  Scottish  boy. 
It  develops  his  independence,  teaches  him  to  plan  his 
time,  and  takes  him  upon  long  and  healthy  adventures. 
Henry  enjoyed  his  Saturday  freedom  even  at  the 
boarding-school  in  Crieff,  and  on  a  visit  there  many 
years  afterwards,  out  of  a  grateful  memory  of  what  it 
had  been  to  himself,  he  impressed  on  the  headmaster 
its  indispensableness  to  the  character  of  the  boys. 
There  was,  let  it  be  said  again,  practically  no  loafing. 
Those  who  held  aloof  from  sports  were  laughed  or 
pommelled  into  a  share  of  them.  '  G  and  A,'  says 
Drummond  in  a  letter  to  his  brother,  '  are  by  no 
means  so  spoony  as  formerly,  but  still  at  times  they 
try  their  old  plans  —  walks  and  so  forth.'  It  was  a 
breezy,  healthy  life,  and  not  the  least  part  of  its  health 
was  the  way  the  '  town's  school '  brought  all  classes  of 
the  '  town's  bairns '  into  rivalry,  both  of  work  and 
play.  Among  Drummond's  mates  was  a  miner's  son, 
William  Durham,  who  carried  everything  before  him 
at  Stirling,  and  died  at  the  close  of  a  brilliant  career 
in  Edinburgh  University.  He  was  the  original  of  the 
'  Lad  of  Pairts '  in  the  story  by  '  Ian  Maclaren,'  who 
himself  joined  Stirling  High  School  a  few  months 
before  Drummond  left  it  for  Crieff.  Drummond  also 
remembered  there  the  original  of  '  Bumbee  Willie.' 

The  boys  were  made  to  write  essays.  They  found 
their  way  to  the  Macfarlane  Free  Library,  and  in  that 
dingy  place  hunted  up  their  subjects  in  the  few  en- 
cyclopaedias —  chiefly  the  Penny  and  the  Britannica. 
Their  own  reading  was  mainly  in  Ballantyne's  stories 
or  Beadle's  '  American  Library '  of  sixpenny  books, 
published  monthly  in  orange  covers — Red  Indian 


/Ex.  7-12]  SCHOOL  AND  COLLEGE  23 

tales,  with  white  hunters  for  their  heroes.  About  half 
a  dozen  of  the  older  boys  formed  a  '  United  Book 
Club,'  to  which  each  contributed  a  weekly  penny,  and 
a  cousin  with  more  pocket-money  than  the  rest  made 
up  the  deficiencies.  This  bought  periodicals  like  the 
Boys  Magazine  and  the  Boys  Journal,  which,  in  those 
days  before  rubber  stamps  were  invented,  were  marked 
'  U.  B.  C.'  with  a  stamp  carved  out  of  'caum.'1 

In  school  the  English  class  was  always  opened  with 
prayer.  Every  Monday  morning  a  verse  of  a  Psalm 
was  repeated  and  a  chapter  read,  and  every  Friday 
morning  a  question  was  asked  from  the  Catechism. 
*  We  envied  the  Episcopalians  their  freedom  from  the 
Catechism.' 

Mr.  Drummond  did  not  send  his  children  to  a 
Sabbath-school,  but  on  Sunday  they  gathered  to  sing 
hymns,  and  were  catechised  and  formally  addressed 
by  their  father.  They  went  twice  to  church. 

'  Henry  was  more  prominent  in  the  playground 
than  in  the  class.  1 2  think  of  him  most  of  all  in  the 
English  department.  Under  its  distinguished  teacher, 
Mr.  Young,3  two  objects  received  special  attention, — 
reading  aloud  and  grammar,  analysis  and  composition. 
Henry  was  a  beautiful  reader,  and  more  than  once 
obtained  the  reading  prize.  I  think  the  skill  which 
was  then  developed  largely  helped  to  make  him  the 
speaker  he  subsequently  became.'  He  was  a  rapid 
learner,  but  volatile,  careless  of  hours,  and  often  late 
for  meals.  Yet  his  family  remember  how  through 
his  boyhood  this  was  the  most  serious  fault  for  which 
he  was  ever  rebuked.  One  of  his  hobbies  was  collect- 
ing eggs.  His  sense  of  bargaining  was  always  very 

1  Soft  slate  or  shale. 

2  The  Rev.  John  H.  M'Culloch,  now  of  North  Leith. 

8 '  Mr.  Young  was  an  old  white-haired  man  with  fine  manners,  who  taught 
English  with  much  dignity  and  impressiveness.'  —  REV.  T.  CRERAR. 


24  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1858-63 

strong,  and  his  pockets  were  even  fuller  than  those  of 
other  boys  with  knives,  pencils,  and  marbles.  '  He 
took  a  foremost  place  in  the  playground,  where  he  was 
ready  for  any  game ;  there  he  began  that  acquaintance 
with  his  fellows,  and  that  personal  influence  upon 
them,  which  so  distinguished  his  years  of  manhood.'1 
He  took  to  cricket  with  enthusiasm,  and  some  skill ; 
both  at  Stirling  and  at  Crieff  he  kept  wickets  for  the 
eleven.  But  fishing  was  his  favourite  sport  —  his  first 
rod  a  bamboo  cane  with  a  string  at  the  end  of  it.  His 
brother  says :  '  He  was  a  better  fisher  than  I,  but  when 
I  caught  my  first  trout  he  was  more  jubilant  than  if  it 
had  been  his  own.'  Even  as  a  boy  he  cast  a  very 
pretty  line.  He  could  swim,  but  not  well.  On  sum- 
mer Saturdays,  with  other  boys,  he  went  far  up  a  burn 
among  the  hills  behind  his  home,  caught  trout,  lit  a 
fire,  scraped  some  poached  turnips  with  tinkers'  scraps, 
and  bathed  and  cooked  alternately  the  livelong  day. 
Around  these  high  excursions  lay  one  of  the  most 
glorious  landscapes  even  in  Scotland  —  the  Rock 
and  its  Castle,  the  links  of  Forth,  Bannockburn,  the 
Ochils,  and  to  the  northwest,  the  first  great  Bens : 
Lomond,  Venue,  Ledi,  and  Voirlich.  He  has  not 
written  of  what  all  this  was  to  him,  and  you  could 
seldom  have  told  from  his  conversation  that  he  was  a 
4  Son  of  the  Rock.'  But  after  he  had  seen  most  of  the 
world,  whenever  he  came  back  to  Stirling  he  would 
take  his  old  walk  round  the  Castle  and  say  to  his 
brother,  '  Man,  there's  no  place  like  this  —  no  place 
like  Scotland ! ' 

'  He  was  not  more  than  averagely  popular  among 
his  contemporaries,  and  had  hardly  any  intimate 
friends,  but  bigger  boys  were  fond  of  giving  him 
things,  and  he  was  a  great  favourite  with  men.'  His 

1  From  reminiscences  by  Rev.  J.  H.  M'Culloch. 


JET.  7-12]  SCHOOL  AND  COLLEGE  25 

interest  in  fishing  was  partly  the  cause  of  this.  But 
even  in  childhood  he  must  have  had  some  distinction 
which  caught  an  experienced  eye,  and  there  were  occa- 
sions on  which  he  took  the  lead  of  other  children  and 
impressed  himself  on  older  people,  always,  as  witnesses 
testify,  without  any  self-consciousness.  The  Rev. 
James  Robertson,  a  famous  preacher  to  children,  was 
holding  a  service  for  all  the  Sabbath-schools  of  the 
town  in  Erskine  United  Presbyterian  Church.  '  The 
Free  North  School  was  the  last  to  arrive,  and  the 
church  being  already  crowded,  one  class  was  arranged 
on  the  pulpit  stairs,  and  Henry  and  two  other  boys 
were  taken  into  the  pulpit  itself.  Mr.  Robertson  be- 
gan his  sermon  by  saying  that  the  Bible  is  like  a  tree, 
each  book  a  branch,  each  chapter  a  twig,  and  each 
verse  a  leaf.  "  My  text  is  on  the  thirty-ninth  branch, 
the  third  twig,  and  the  seventeenth  leaf.  Try  and 
find  it  for  me."  Almost  immediately  Henry  slipped 
from  behind  him  and  said,  "  Malachi  third  and  seven- 
teen."—  "  Right,  my  boy;  now  take  my  place  and  read 
it  out."  Then  from  the  pulpit  came  the  silvery  voice : 
"  And  they  shall  be  Mine,  saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  in 
that  day  when  I  make  up  My  jewels"  Mr.  Robertson 
laid  his  hand  on  the  boy's  head  and  said :  "  Well  done. 
I  hope  one  day  you  will  be  a  minister." ' 1 

With  this  picture  we  may  take  another,  which  we 
owe  to  the  good  fortune  that  John  Watson  came  to 
Stirling  High  School  shortly  before  Henry  left  it  for 
Crieff:  — 

'  It  was  in  the  King's  Park  more  than  thirty  years  ago  that 
I  first  saw  Drummond,  and  on  our  first  meeting  he  produced 
the  same  effect  upon  me  that  he  did  all  his  after  life.  The 
sun  was  going  down  behind  Ben  Lomond,  in  the  happy 
summer  time,  touching  with  gold  the  grey  old  castle,  deepen- 

1  From  reminiscences  by  Mr.  Fotheringham. 


26  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1858-63 

ing  the  green  upon  the  belt  of  trees  which  fringed  the  east- 
ern side  of  the  park,  and  filling  the  park  itself  with  soft, 
mellow  light.  A  cricket  match  between  two  schools  had 
been  going  on  all  day  and  was  coming  to  an  end,  and  I  had 
gone  out  to  see  the  result,  being  a  new  arrival  in  Stirling 
and  full  of  curiosity.  The  two  lads  at  the  wickets  were  in 
striking  contrast  —  one  heavy,  stockish,  and  determined,  who 
slogged  powerfully  and  had  scored  well  for  his  side ;  the  other 
nimble,  alert,  graceful,  who  had  a  pretty  but  uncertain  play. 
The  slogger  was  forcing  the  running  in  order  to  make  up 
a  heavy  leeway,  and  compelled  his  partner  to  run  once 
too  often.  "It's  all  right  and  you  fellows  are  not  to  cry 
shame,"  —  this  was  what  he  said  as  he  joined  his  friends, — 
"Buchanan  is  playing  A  I,  and  that  hit  ought  to  have  been 
a  four ;  I  messed  the  running."  It  was  good  form,  of  course, 
and  what  any  decent  lad  would  want  to  say,  but  there  was  an 
accent  of  gaiety  and  a  certain  air  which  was  very  taking. 
Against  that  group  of  clumsy,  unformed,  awkward  Scots 
lads,  this  bright,  straight,  living  figure  stood  out  in  relief,  and 
as  he  moved  about  the  field  my  eyes  followed  him,  and  in  my 
boyish  and  dull  mind  I  had  a  sense  that  he  was  a  type  by 
himself,  a  visitor  of  finer  breed  than  those  among  whom  he 
moved.  By  and  by  he  mounted  a  friend's  pony  and  galloped 
along  the  racecourse  in  the  park  till  one  saw  only  a  speck 
of  white  in  the  sunlight,  and  still  I  watched  in  wonder  and 
fascination  —  only  a  boy  of  thirteen  or  so,  and  dull  —  till  he 
came  back,  in  time  to  cheer  the  slogger  who  had  pulled  off 
the  match  with  three  runs  to  spare  —  and  carried  his  bat. 

'  "Well  played,  old  chap,"  the  pure,  clear,  joyous  note  rang 
out  on  the  evening  air;  "finest  thing  you've  ever  done," 
while  the  strong-armed,  heavy-faced  slogger  stood  still  and 
looked  at  him  in  admiration,  and  made  amends.  "I  say, 
Drummond,  it  was  my  blame  you  were  run  out.  ..." 
Drummond  was  his  name,  and  some  one  said  "  Henry."  So 
I  first  saw  my  friend. 

'  What  impressed  me  that  pleasant  evening  in  the  days  of 
long  ago  I  can  now  identify.  It  was  the  lad's  distinction,  an 
inherent  quality  of  appearance  and  manner  of  character  and 
soul  which  marked  him  and  made  him  solitary.' 


JET.  7-12]  SCHOOL  AND   COLLEGE  2J 

When  Henry  was  twelve,  James  and  he  were  sent 
to  Morison's  Academy  at  Crieff.  They  boarded  with 
the  rector,  Mr.  Ogilvie,  one  of  a  band  of  able  brothers 
who  have  done  noble  service  for  education  in  Scotland. 
After  two  years  James  entered  his  father's  business, 
but  Henry  stayed  on  to  prepare  for  the  university. 
A  series  of  letters  to  James  and  his  parents  record 
the  details  of  a  very  happy  life.  He  begins  German 
and  learns  chess  and  whist.  Mr.  Ogilvie  introduces 
a  weekly  lecture  on  Natural  Philosophy,  and  an  air- 
pump  and  electrical  apparatus  are  purchased  to  the 
excitement  of  the  school.  The  football  club  gets  its 
first  Rugby  ball  and  proper  goals.  There  is  fishing 
in  the  Turret,  and  skating  on  the  loch  of  Ochtertyre. 
The  boys  rehearse  for  theatricals ;  Henry  is  to  be  a 
lady.  Christy  ministrels  are  coming,  but  Henry  has 
seen  from  the  Stirling  paper  that  the  troupe  is  not  a 
good  one,  and  dissuades  the  rector  from  taking  the 
school  to  see  them !  And  so  on.  These  letters  are 
charming,  but  their  charm  cannot  be  conveyed  in  quo- 
tations. They  are  written  with  some  promise  of  his 
later  style  —  subject  to  frequent  misspellings.  There 
is  much  shrewdness  and  humour  in  describing  his 
masters  and  schoolmates,  an  independent  judgment, 
which  is  adverse,  of  a  tract  sent  him  from  home,  a 
touch  of  sarcasm  when  he  has  succeeded  to  his  older 
brother's  topcoat  and  congratulates  the  latter  on  his 
new  one,  a  healthy  power  of  chaff,  a  bit  of  boyish  bru- 
tality in  reporting  that  '  J.  has  typhous  (sic]  fever;  poor 
fellow,  it  will  weaken  him  sadly,  but  he  needed  some- 
thing of  that  kind  to  tame  him,'  and  just  one  touch  of 
priggishness.  Throughout  there  beats  a  strong  sym- 
pathy with  all  at  home,  and  a  very  pretty  desire  that 
father,  mother,  brothers,  and  sisters  should  each  have 
some  pleasure.  The  habit  thus  formed  was  retained. 


28  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1863-66 

Till  the  end  Drummond  almost  never  missed  writing 
his  mother  so  that  she  should  get  a  letter  every 
Saturday  night. 

I  have  presented  these  details  of  Henry  Drum- 
mond's  early  years,  not  because  I  deem  them  singular, 
but  because  this  natural  boyhood,  eagerly  enjoyed,  was 
the  secret  of  his  life-long  sympathy  with  boys,  and  of 
his  wonderful  influence  over  them.  To  the  end  he 
preserved  the  vivid  memory,  which  only  the  pure  in 
heart  preserve,  of  what  he  himself  had  been  as  a  boy : 
at  what  queer  angles  he  had  seen  the  world ;  what 
had  interested  and  what  had  tempted  him ;  what  he 
had  understood  in  the  religion  he  was  taught  and 
what  he  silently  dropped.  That  religion  was  evan- 
gelical Christianity  of  a  doctrinal  form,  strict  in  its 
adherence  to  a  somewhat  dry  routine  of  preaching  and 
teaching,  but  not  gloomy  nor  ascetic,  for  it  forbade  no 
amusements,  allowed  the  boys  to  lead  an  athletic  life, 
to  play  chess  and  whist,  to  learn  dancing,  and  as  they 
grew  older  to  go  to  dancing  parties.  The  boys  were 
patriotic,  as  boys  could  not  help  being  who  lived  under 
Stirling  Castle,  and  public-spirited,  for  Mr.  Drum- 
mond's  large  share  in  social  movements  interested  and 
did  not  weary  his  children.  If  the  area  of  religious 
experience  was  denominational,  this  involved  no  bitter- 
ness, but  merely  an  ignorance  of  the  works  of  other 
Churches,  which,  Henry  once  naively  told  me,  was  the 
source  to  him  afterwards  of  the  most  delightful  sur- 
prises at  the  great  amount  of  good  in  the  world. 

From  his  home  discipline  Henry  carried  away  a 
neatness  and  punctuality  that  lasted  all  his  days.  His 
schoolmates  have  emphasised  the  unselfishness  of  the 
boy,  and  unselfishness  was  the  note  of  his  life  to  the 
end.  But  the  most  beautiful  thing  which  the  letters 
reveal  is  the  full  confidence  between  parents  and  chil- 


/Ex.  12-is]  SCHOOL  AND  COLLEGE  29 

dren,  so  that  the  latters'  own  powers  of  judgment  were 
fostered,  and  their  humour  had  free  play.  It  is  a 
healthy  home  where  the  old  and  the  young  folk  have 
the  same  jokes. 

In  July,  1866,  Henry  left  Crieff  with  prizes  for 
Latin  and  English,  and  for  an  essay  on  '  War  and 
Peace.'  In  October,  being  fifteen  years  of  age,  very 
small,  and  haunted  by  a  fear  that  he  would  not  grow, 
he  matriculated  at  Edinburgh  University.  During 
the  first  session  he  lodged  with  two  older  students, 
Crerar  and  Carmichael,  who  superintended  his  studies. 
He  was  still  the  boy,  and  it  is  amusing  to  see  how  his 
habits  of  chaffering  and  exchange  were  developed. 
He  haunted  the  auction  rooms  of  Edinburgh,  and 
made  bargains  which  would  have  been  great  if  he  had 
had  any  use  for  the  articles  —  two  guitars  which  he  did 
learn  to  play,1  and  other  instruments  which  he  did  not 
learn.  He  advertised  his  '  eggs  in  exchange  for  money 
or  a  telescope,'  and  was  pestered  by  a  dealer  'with  offers 
of  articles  enough  to  fill  a  pawnshop.'  He  went  to 
look  over  the  wall  of  Pitt  Street  Gymnasium  and  take 
stock  of  the  new  velocipedes.  '  I  do  not  know  what 
to  think  of  them.  They  are  as  light  as  a  feather,  and 
look  rather  startling  ('  Did  you  see  Punch 's  cartoon, 
"  Riding  upon  Nawthin'  ? ' "),  and  go  at  a  great  pace,  but 
appear  to  oscillate  and  waggle  in  what  I  should  think 
was  a  rather  unpleasant  manner.  However,  I  daresay 
the  "  By-Cyclones "  were  all  greenhorns.  It  takes  a 
few  lessons  before  you  become  expert,  which  is  a  great 
blessing,  as  it  would  prevent  everybody  asking  "  to  try 
it "  if  any  of  us  ever  have  one.  The  Parisian  kind  are 
being  advertised  on  all  hands.  I  saw  a  genuine  one, 

i  < »  What  do  you  want  with  two?  "  we  said  in  our  proud  seniority.  "  Oh,  I  can 
sell  one  of  them  for  the  price  of  the  two,"  which,  however,  he  never  did.  He 
got  ribbon  about  the  guitar,  and  pirouetted,  twanging  it  right  musically  and 
heartily.'  —  REV.  T.  CRERAR. 


3O  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1866-67 

a  beauty,  price  £8.  They  have  them  dearer.  An 
Edinburgh  firm,  I  believe,  are  making  them  much 
cheaper  —  and  with  an  improved  drag,  a  most  inge- 
nious and  easily  worked  thing  —  some  say  £2  los. 
Sho!  I  cannot  get  at  the  truth.  One  could  easily 
make  one  if  a  pattern  were  given.'  So  he  kept  his 
eyes  open  to  everything  that  would  interest  his 
brother  at  Stirling.  He  had,  too,  a  pretty  tact  and 
sympathy  with  the  varied  sorts  of  folk  among  whom 
he  was  thrown  for  the  next  four  years.  He  explains 
why  he  cannot  offend  his  fellow-lodgers  by  introducing 
to  the  common  table  (at  his  father's  suggestion  and 
expense)  more  than  his  proper  share  of  dainties.  He 
appreciates  his  landladies,  humorously  describes  their 
babies  to  his  mother,  and  gives  a  genial  account  of 
the  many  characters  which  the  pilgrim  from  lodging 
to  lodging  constantly  encounters.1 

In  the  first  year  of  Arts  at  Edinburgh  University 
in  those  days  there  was  much  on  which  one  looks 
back  now  with  considerable  amusement.  The  stu- 
dents were  either  boys  or  bearded  men,  fresh  from 
the  plough  and  the  workshop.  In  classics  and  mathe- 
matics the  junior  classes  were  below  the  standard  of 
the  senior  forms  in  the  High  Schools.  They  worked 
through  several  Latin  and  Greek  authors,  not  the 
most  difficult,  did  a  heap  of  prose  exercises,  and 
learned  several  books  of  Euclid  with  a  little  algebra. 
The  freshmen  carried  large  oak  sticks  to  class,  cut  and 

1  The  Rev.  T.  Crerar  sends  the  following  reminiscence  from  Drummond's  first 
year  in  lodgings  :  '  Once  the  two  older  students  (Carmichael  and  I)  sampled  too 
well  before  he  returned  a  lot  of  toffee  that  had  been  sent  to  him.  He  expressed  no 
sorrow,  though  toffee  was  sweet  at  that  time,  and  the  seniors  felt  remorse  at  the 
result  of  their  preying  on  his  good  nature.  But  a  morning  or  two  after  he  had  his 
revenge.  He  rushed  into  our  room,  saying,  "  Some  one  died  of  cholera  in  that 
bed,  perhaps  in  the  very  sheets  you  are. lying  in."  We  rose  in  horror  and  dismay. 
Then  he  pointed  the  ringer  and  retreated.  The  death  had  happened  eight  years 
before  !  The  toffee  was  avenged.' 


Ml.  15-16]  SCHOOL  AND   COLLEGE  3! 

bludgeoned  the  desks,  snowballed  the  traffic  on  the 
South  Bridge,  and  by  general  subscription  in  copper 
paid  their  ringleaders'  fines,  both  to  the  University  and 
the  Police  authorities.  They  formed  a  debating  soci- 
ety, the  Philomathic,  which  the  older  societies  scorned 
as  juvenile  and  as  rustic  and  vulgar,  nicknamed  '  the 
Pheelomawthic.'  Its  ambitions  were  not  mean.  Be- 
sides the  usual  historical  questions  to  which  school- 
boys devote  themselves,  it  determined  week  by  week 
the  rank  of  the  great  stars  of  literature  and  solved  the 
most  abstruse  economic  problems ;  but  it  was  also 
practical,  reviewing  once  a  year  the  policy  of  the  Gov- 
ernment. In  Drummond's  time  it  disposed  of  the  Irish 
Church,  decided  against  the  education  of  women,  re- 
formed the  Game  Laws,  and  drew  up  a  new  programme 
of  the  Arts  curriculum.  But  it  grew  most  passionate 
upon  its  own  constitution  and  upon  points  of  order. 
Then  its  eloquence  blew  vast  and  was  beaten  into  the 
desks  with  the  oak  sticks. 

Partly  through  a  dislike  of  classics,  Henry  took  an 
erratic  course  through  Arts.  The  first  year,  1866-67, 
he  had  Senior  Humanity  under  Professor  Sellar  and 
English  with  Professor  Masson.  The  second  year  he 
took  Junior  Greek  with  Professor  Blackie,  Logic  and 
Metaphysics  with  Professor  Fraser,  and  Junior  Mathe- 
matics with  Professor  Kelland ;  and  the  third  year 
Second  Mathematics  and  Natural  Philosophy  with 
Professor  Tait.  It  was  under  Professor  Tait  that 
Drummond  first  woke  up  to  something  more  than 
the  performance  of  routine,  and  his  notebooks  have 
full  transcripts  of  the  lectures  with  diagrams  of  the  ex- 
periments. Yet  he  only  gained  the  fourteenth  place  in 
a  class  of  one  hundred  and  fifty.  In  the  spring  of  1869 
he  passed  the  examination  in  mathematics  and  physics 
for  the  degree  of  M.A.  In  his  fourth  session  he  took 


32  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1867-70 

Senior  Greek,  Senior  Humanity  for  the  second  time, 
and  Moral  Philosophy  with  Professor  Calderwood. 
His  essays  for  the  latter  were  on  the  '  Reliability  of 
Consciousness,'  '  The  Moral  Faculty,'  and  '  The  Dic- 
tum of  Comte :  that  causes  are  inacessible,  we  must 
therefore  substitute  the  Study  of  Laws.'  They  are 
pretty  good,  but  betray  an  amusing  tendency  to  re- 
vert to  the  subject  of  animal  magnetism,  with 
which  Drummond  was  beginning  to  be  fascinated. 
In  April,  1870,  he  closed  his  Arts  course  by  pass- 
ing the  degree  examinations  in  Mental  Philosophy. 
'  I  had  never  courage,'  he  wrote,  '  to  attempt  the  clas- 
sical department  of  the  M.A.'  During  his  divinity 
course  he  came  back  to  the  University  for  Botany, 
Chemistry,  Zoology,  in  which  he  took  second  place 
with  seventy-six  per  cent.,  and  Geology,  in  which  he 
won  the  class  medal.  But,  although  he  tried  twice, 
he  failed  to  pass  the  first  part  of  the  Bachelor  of 
Science  examination  and  left  the  University  without  a 
degree.  To  one  of  his  more  successful  friends  he 
wrote :  '  J.  W.  addresses  me  "  two-thirds  M.A."  I  wish 
the  University  was  liberal  enough  to  reward  a  martyr 
like  myself  with  its  precious  degree  upon  credit,  and 
I  am  almost  inclined  to  petition  the  Senate  to  that 
effect.' 

Meanwhile  Drummond  had  put  himself  under  an- 
other discipline,  in  which  it  is  possible  to  see  the 
development  of  his  later  powers,  chiefly  his  powers 
of  observation  and  his  style  of  writing  English.  At 
the  beginning  of  his  second  session  he  attended  a 
meeting  of  the  Philomathic  Society  and  was  proposed 
as  a  member,  —  against  his  will,  he  says,  but  neverthe- 
less there  and  then  he  made  his  first  speech,  —  an 
undergrown  boy  of  sixteen  with  auburn  hair,  a  bonny 
fresh  face,  and  keen  eyes.  His  first  essay,  on  '  Novels 


JEt.  16-19]  SCHOOL  AND  COLLEGE  33 

and  Novel-reading,'  followed  in  two  months.  '  It 
was  not  an  utter  failure  and  the  old  hands  praised  it,' 
he  wrote  to  his  mother,  to  whom  alone  of  all  his  corre- 
spondents he  repeats  any  praise  that  he  has  heard  of 
himself.  In  1868  some  members  of  the  Society 
started,  in  monthly  manuscript,  '  The  Philomathic,  a 
Literary  Magazine  conducted  by  a  few  of  the  Alumni 
of  Edinburgh  University.'  It  lived  for  eight  months. 
Drummond  was  the  editor,  and  contributed  in  Janu- 
ary, 1869,  an  essay  on  '  Mesmerism  and  Animal  Mag- 
netism.' This  is  an  enthusiastic  defence  of  the  sincerity 
and  usefulness  of  a  movement  then  under  much  ridi- 
cule. It  asserts  as  indubitable  the  evidence  of  the 
ability  of  one  man's  will  to  induce  certain  states  in 
others.  '  How  probable  this  is  in  a  reasonable  universe  ! 
The  Creator  cannot  have  isolated  men  from  each  other 
nor  shut  each  up  in  his  own  prison  body.  In  the  hu- 
man body  he  has  engrafted  a  life-giving,  communi- 
cable, and  curative  power !  .  .  .  Mesmerism  has  been 
proved  to  be  a  better  anaesthetic  than  chloroform.  .  .  . 
With  such  serious  and  beneficial  results  its  practice 
for  amusement  ought  to  be  seriously  condemned.  .  .  . 
Mesmerism  must  prevail ;  only  in  its  infancy,  it  will 
some  day  be  recognised  as  Nature's  universal  cura- 
tive agent,'  and  so  forth.  The  usual  pleas  on  be- 
half of  a  process  which  had  not  (at  least  in  this 
country)  obtained  the  attention  from  scientific  authori- 
ties which  it  has  since  gained  are  advanced  with  force 
and  clearness.  But  the  interest  of  the  paper  lies  in 
the  fact  that  Drummond  himself  had  practised  upon 
others  the  power  of  mesmerism. 

'  It  was  at  that  time,'  writes  the  Rev.  J.  H.  M'Culloch,  '  that 
he  developed  an  aptitude  for  what  was  then  known  as 
electro-biology.  The  student  who  shared  rooms  with  me 
proved  a  capital  subject  and  Drummond  could  do  anything  he 


34  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1867-70 

liked  with  him  without  giving  offence.  Once  I  remember 
being  in  the  University  reading-room  when  this  student  came 
in,  walked  up  to  where  I  was  sitting,  and  without  a  word  took 
his  watch  off  the  chain  and  handed  it  to  me.  I  looked  up 
and  saw  at  once  what  was  what.  I  asked  him  what  he  had 
been  about,  and  he  told  me  that  Drummond  had  been  prac- 
tising on  him.  I  told  him  that  he  should  ask  him  for  his  watch, 
and  then  when  I  found  that  he  had  no  recollection  of  having 
given  it  to  me,  I  handed  it  back  to  him  and  told  him  that  this 
sort  of  thing  should  come  to  an  end.' 

Why  Drummond  gave  up  this  practice  I  do  not 
exactly  know.  I  have  heard  that  it  was  because  he 
was  once  startled  by  the  unforeseen  length  to  which 
his  influence  had  gone  upon  another  student,  though 
the  latter  at  the  time  it  was  exercised  was  living  at  a 
distance  from  him.  So  much  for  the  paper  on  'Animal 
Magnetism.'  Drummond  also  contributed  to  the  de- 
bates in  the  Philomathic,  speaking  against  the  Irish 
Church  and  in  favour  of  the  education  of  women,  the 
latter  on  the  grounds  of  the  'awful  crime  of  leaving  any 
mind  untrained  and  of  the  terribly  unintellectual  state 
of  the  average  girl  of  the  period ! ' 

He  had  begun  to  form  a  library  and  to  read  for  him- 
self. He  bought  some  books  at  auctions.  He  has  read, 
he  says,  Channing's  works,  some  of  Ruskin's  and  of 
Robertson's  of  Brighton,  Lamb's  Essays,  Shenstone 
and  Cowley,  Lowell  and  the  American  humourists.  He 
must  have  read  largely  in  poetry,  chiefly  in  Cowley, 
Pope,  Byron,  and  Lowell,  for  his  papers  of  this  time 
have  many  unhackneyed  quotations  from  all  of  these. 
He  had  fallen  under  the  spell  of  Ruskin.  At  the 
election  of  Lord  Rector  of  the  University  in  1868  he 
canvassed  for  him,  as  against  the  political  candidates, 
Mr.  Robert  Lowe  and  Lord  Advocate  Moncrieff. 

But  the  best  proof  of  how  rapidly  Drummond  was 
educating  himself  in  argument  and  style  appears  from 


yEx.  15-18]  SCHOOL  AND   COLLEGE  35 

two  papers  and  a  little  bundle  of  notes  for  a  third. 
In  1870  he  delivered  his  valedictory  address  as  Presi- 
dent of  the  Philomathic,  and  after  expounding  the 
advantages  of  debate,  contrasted  the  lecture,  conver- 
sation, and  reading  as  a  means  of  gaining  knowledge. 
*  The  lecture,'  he  says,  '  is  the  best  means.  If  it 
has  fallen  into  disrepute  in  our  day,  that  is  because 
there  are  no  good  lecturers.  The  advantage  of 
public  teaching  lies  in  the  sympathy  which  it  creates. 
A  lecturer,  however,  should  not  be  conversational. 
He  is  as  much  out  of  place  as  a  lecturing  conversa- 
tionalist.' '  The  matter  of  a  lecture  is  the  pedantry  of 
conversation.'  He  passes  on  to  reading :  '  Books  are 
the  great  delusion  of  the  present  age.  We  find  them 
everywhere.  Nature  is  mocked  and  put  in  the  back- 
ground.' '  A  good  book  is  as  valuable  as  a  good 
friend,  but  he  who  has  too  many  books,  like  him  who 
has  too  many  friends,  is  sure  to  be  led  away  by  some 
of  them.'  '  Most  neglect  the  great  end  of  reading. 
The  thing  sought  is  not  what  you  will  get  in  an 
author,  but  what  the  author  will  enable  you  to  find  in 
yourself.  Unreflective  minds  possess  thoughts  as 
a  jug  does  water,  only  by  containing  them  ;  if  pebbles 
be  dropped  in  the  water,  if  the  thought  of  another 
plunges  in  among  our  own,  the  contents  brim  over  and 
we  discover  in  ourselves  sentiments  and  ideas  which, 
apart  from  certain  external  conditions  of  development, 
had  never  been  formed,  and  the  mind  had  been  left  in 
perpetual  slumber.'  '  The  great  danger  of  reading  is 
superficiality.  Many  read  far  too  much.' 

The  second  of  the  papers  mentioned  above  was  one 
of  several  sent  about  this  time  (1870,  when  he  was  not 
nineteen)  to  the  editors  of  magazines  and  returned  by 
them.  This  one  was  offered  to  CasseWs  Magazine^ 
It  is  entitled  '  The  Abuse  of  the  Adjective.' 


36  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1870 

After  a  couple  of  pages  against  slang,  'by  the  introduction 
of  which  our  language  is  losing  its  solid,  classic  grandeur  and 
becoming  enfeebled  and  diluted  with  a  wretched  levity,'  he 
goes  on  to  speak  of  '  an  internal  enemy,  a  more  subtle  because 
less  apparent  danger,  the  indiscriminate  use  of  adjectives.' 
'Adjectives  have  become  cosmopolitan.  Immensity,  minute- 
ness, rotundity,  profundity,  astronomy,  gastronomy,  emotions, 
monkeys,  feelings,  frying-pans,  mountains,  mouse-traps,  trees, 
toothpicks,  sunsets,  and  sewing-machines  are  all  qualified  in 
turn  by  exactly  the  same  set  of  adjectives.  .  .  .  Appropri- 
ateness of  meaning  seems  utterly  lost  sight  of,  and  all  are 
used  promiscuously,  apparently  with  but  one  object,  to  add 
strength  to  an  otherwise  insipid  observation.  In  short,  the 
prevailing  opinion  and  province  of  an  adjective  seems  to  be 
"A  big  word,  having  no  special  significance  of  its  own, 
employed  to  give  force  and  liveliness  to  a  sentence  consist- 
ing otherwise  of  plain,  common-sense  words."  That  deli- 
cacy of  expression  is  sacrificed  to  elaboration,  and  exactness 
of  description  to  sonorousness,  further  appears  from  the 
increased  use  of  qualifying  Adverbs,  as  well  as  from  the  fre- 
quency with  which  the  Superlative  degree  is  employed.  .  .  . 
Not  the  least  dangerous  quality  of  this  manner  of  expression 
is  its  infectiousness.  It  runs  through  a  community  like  an  epi- 
demic and  its  opponents  take  to  it  in  self-defence.  ...  Mild 
language  does  not  do  at  all.  Every  man  is  a  braggart.  The 
desire  to  say  a  strong  thing  has  grown  almost  irresistible,  and 
truth  becomes  sacrificed  to  strength  and  impressibility  (szc).' 
'Those  most  addicted  to  the  habit  are  Ladies.  .  .  .  Our 
Ladies,  in  conversation  at  least,  are  no  longer  the  Gentle 
Sex.  They  have  grown  in  their  ideas  masculine,  and  in  their 
expression  of  them  barbarous.  When  the  voice  of  Beauty 
is  heard  it  speaks  in  uncouth  tones.  But  professional  men, 
who  ought  to  be  free  of  the  habit,  have  also  succumbed. 
Some  men  have  a  notion  that  this  manner  of  "  piling  on  "  the 
adjective  constitutes  raciness.  When  the  conversation  is 
flippant  in  se  it  is  not  so  extremely  objectionable.  Truly,  if 
we  talk  nonsense,  we  ought  to  talk  it  well,  i.e.  well  nonsensi- 
cally. But  what  we  complain  of  is  that  a  deal  of  sense  is  in 
the  language  of  nonsense.  .  .  .  Language  should  be  sub- 
ordinate to  thought,  not  thought  to  language.  .  .  .  Com- 


MT.  18]  SCHOOL  AND  COLLEGE  37 

monplace  people  are  deluded  by  the  habit.  They  mistake 
the  half-dozen  really  good  thoughts  which  every  fool  pos- 
sesses for  the  revelation  of  the  hidden  glory  of  a  great  mind. 
But  so  far  from  serving  any  utilitarian  purpose  the  habit  of 
multiplying  adjectives  really  makes  a  sentence  less  impres- 
sive than  if  simple  words  had  been  used.  There  is  a  natural 
tendency  to  suspect  insincerity  whenever  the  language  is 
extraordinary  enough  to  suggest  strain  or  effort  on  the  part 
of  the  author.'  The  paper  then  illustrates  from  ballads, 
children's  stories,  and  the  Bible  the  simplicity  of  the  greatest 
literature,  and  closes  with  the  practical  exhortation :  '  If  the 
danger  be  pointed  out,  there  is  surely  no  reasonable  individ- 
ual who  would  not  sacrifice  any  slight  gratification  it  may 
afford  him  for  the  sake  of  the  issues  at  stake,  the  corruption 
versus  the  preservation  of  the  English  language.' 

The  bundle  of  notes  referred  to  were  in'  prepa- 
ration for  an  article  in  the  Stirling  Observer  upon 
Alva  Glen  —  Drummond's  earliest  published  writing. 
They  reveal  a  keen  sense  of  beauty  and  an  extra- 
ordinary care  in  sketching  natural  facts.  Every 
boulder  in  the  glen,  every  turn  of  the  banks,  every 
twist  and  cascade  in  the  burn,  the  geological  forma- 
tions, the  colouring  of  the  rocks,  the  fragrances  of  the 
wood,  the  sounds  of  human  industry  that  penetrate 
to  the  furthest  corners,  the  features  of  the  sky-line, 
the  distant  prospects,  are  all  noted  in  a  series  of  rapid 
impressive  clauses  that  succeed  in  making  a  stranger 
to  the  scene  feel  as  if  he  were  viewing  it.1 

I  have  quoted  all  this,  not  so  much  for  its  own  sake, 
though  a  deal  of  it  is  very  clever,  but  because  it  shows 
how  diligently  and  how  sanely  Drummond  prepared 
the  clear  and  brilliant  style  for  which  he  afterwards 
became  famous.  There  is  no  evidence  in  any  of  his 

1  There  exists,  too,  a  curious  paper  entitled  'Treason  among  the  Tombs,'  due  to 
a  visit  to  Glasnevin  Cemetery,  Dublin,  and  the  sight  of  monuments  to  Irishmen 
shot  or  hung  during  the  Fenian  rebellion.  He  is  shocked  by  the  open  defiance 
of  Great  Britain  which  the  inscriptions  record,  and  makes  a  number  of  sound 
remarks  upon  the  problems  of  British  government  in  Ireland. 


38  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1870 

essays  at  this  time  of  an  original  capacity  of  thought ; 
but  there  is  abundant  proof  of  unusually  keen  powers 
of  observation,  of  a  fine  and  healthy  taste  in  letters, 
and  of  distinct  powers  of  illustration  and  interpreta- 
tion —  all  of  them  exercised  with  a  sanity  and  matu- 
rity not  less  than  remarkable  from  a  boy  of  just 
over  eighteen  years  of  age.  '  One  thing,'  writes  Mr. 
M'Culloch,  '  which  struck  me  at  college  was  the  fash- 
ion in  which  Drummond  laid  himself  out  in  a  quiet 
way  thoroughly  to  know  how  those  around  him  looked 
at  things.  He  had  the  faculty  of  putting  himself  en 
rapport  with  everybody.  Everybody  liked  him,  too, 
because  he  was  never  inquisitorial.  He  gained  the 
confidence  of  others  almost  without  their  knowing  it, 
and  they  were  glad  they  had  been  so  frank  with  him. 
This,  too,  became  a  characteristic  in  that  larger  world 
where  he  ultimately  found  his  vocation.' 

During  his  University  course  Drummond  had  shot 
up  into  a  tall  man,  graceful  when  at  rest,  and  moving 
with  a  litheness  and  a  spring  that  were  all  his  own. 
A  fellow-student 1  thus  remembers  him :  '  He  often 
stood  in  a  thoughtful  manner,  or  sauntered  about  the 
northeast  corner  of  the  college  quadrangle  between 
classes.  He  generally  wore  a  tall  hat,  and  had  long 
auburn  hair.  Though  I  fain  would  have  spoken  to 
him,  his  ethereal  appearance  and  great  grace  and 
refinement  seemed  to  forbid  an  approach  to  one  who 
appeared  different  from  the  majority  of  the  students. 
He  was  generally  alone.  Indeed,  his  apparent  loneli- 
ness first  drew  my  attention  to  him.  He  seemed  to 
have  no  companions  as  the  other  students  had,  but 
was  only  one  of  them,  handsome,  bright,  and  silent. 
He  struck  me  as  one  possessed  by  great  thoughts, 
which  were  polarising  in  his  mind  and  giving  a  happy 
expression  to  his  face.' 

1  Now  Dr.  H.  M.  Church  of  Edinburgh. 


CHAPTER   III 

PREPARATION  FOR  THE  MINISTRY 

'  DURING  his  Arts  curriculum  Henry  Drummond 
formed  no  plans  for  his  future,  beyond  some  thought 
of  finding  his  way  into  the  Divinity  Hall  of  the  Free 
Church  of  Scotland.'1 

To  this  there  was  much  to  dispose  him,  and  he  had 
already  passed  through  some  religious  experience. 
In  his  last  illness  he  told  Professor  Simpson  that 
'when  he  was  twelve  he  had  a  great  work  going 
through  Bonar's  God's  Way  of  Peace,  but  thinks  it 
did  him  harm.'  While  he  was  a  student,  he  attended 
some  mission  services  at  Cambusbarron.  He  was 
profoundly  impressed  by  the  addresses  he  heard,  and 
soon  after  told  his  father  that  he  wished  to  enter  the 
ministry.2  In  Edinburgh  he  shared  his  lodgings  with 
several  divinity  students ;  and  in  Stirling  he  met 
many  ministers  and  evangelists,  among  them  Dr. 
Binnie  of  the  Reformed  Presbyterian  Church,  to 
whose  kindness  in  counsel  he  afterwards  looked  back 
with  gratitude. 

The  first  notice  of  his  intentions  occurs  in  a 
letter  to  a  fellow-student  of  date  April,  1870.  'Are 
you  not  sorry  to  leave  the  University?  I  feel 
it  very  much.  Altho'  I  intend  to  enter  the  Church 
Hall  next  winter,  it  is  still  a  degeneracy  to  go 

1  From  recollections  by  the  Rev.  J.  H.  M'Culloch. 

2  From  recollections  by  Mr.  Fotheringham.    The  Cambusbarron  Mission  was 
in  charge  of  the  Rev.  Alexander  Macdonald,  now  of  Ardclach;   and  the  special 
services  were  conducted  by  Mr.  Stephen  Burrows,  now  evangelist  at  Naples. 

39 


40  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1870 

from  an  ancient  University  to  a  nameless  college ! 
Happily  I  shall  still  be  a  student.  I  have  now  to 
commence  the  pleasant  study  of  Hebrew,  and  have 
the  prospect  of  being  plucked  in  that  particular 
branch  at  the  F.  C.  Board  Examination  in  July.  For- 
tunately I  know  the  alphabet  from  the  i  igth  Psalm ! ' 
On  May  i5th  he  began  Hebrew  by  himself,  and  soon 
after  made  a  literal  translation  of  some  of  the  Psalms. 
On  July  26th  he  passed  the  Board. 

In  the  summer  he  had  taken  a  tutorship  in  a  fanrly 
in  Kincardineshire  and  he  there  spent  his  nineteenth 
birthday  —  his  first  from  home.  It  cast  him  into  a 
train  of  serious  reflection. 

'  May  I  never  be  too  hardened  to  let  these  annual 
milestones  sweep  by  unwept  for!  In  looking 
back  on  my  past  years  I  see  nothing  but  an  un- 
broken change  of  Mercies.  Few  lives  have  been 
as  happy  as  mine.  The  rod  of  affliction  may 
conquer  many,  but  if  I  am  subdued  at  all  I  have 
been  "killed  with  kindness" — unmerited,  unre- 
quited, unsolicited,  unexampled  kindness.  "  What 
can  I  render  unto  God  for  all  His  gifts  to  me  ?  " 
Alas !  I  have  rendered  nothing,  nothing  but  evil. 
The  only  misery  I  have  endured  has  been  of  my 
own  creation  —  the  confusion  of  face  for  my  own 
iniquity,  the  mournings  for  sins  that  were  past, 
and  the  consciousness  of  my  own  guilt  before 
God.  For  days  I  have  felt  ashamed  to  look  up 
to  Him  and  too  wicked  to  approach  His  foot- 
stool. I  believe  I  have  discovered  by  my  own 
sad  experience  the  true  meaning  and  justice  of 
His  attributes,  "  Longsuffering,"  "  Plenteous  in 
Mercy,"  etc.  O  that  these  humiliating  periods  of 
darkness  were  at  an  end  !  I  think  I  can  honestly 


yET.  19]  PREPARATION   FOR  THE  MINISTRY  4! 

say  that  the  chief  desire  of  my  heart  is  to  be  rec- 
onciled unto  God  and  to  feel  the  light  of  His 
countenance  always  upon  me.  As  honestly,  I 
think,  I  can  say  that  God  in  His  great  goodness 
has  given  me  little  care  for  the  things  of  the 
world.  I  have  been  enabled  to  see  the  extreme 
littleness  of  the  world  in  comparison  with  the 
great  Hereafter  [so]  that  the  temptations  of  the 
former  seem  as  nothing  to  the  attractions  of 
the  latter,  and  I  cannot  be  too  thankful  that  I 
have  been  thus  spared  being  whirled  into  the  vor- 
tex of  the  cares  of  this  life  and  the  deceitfulness 
of  riches.  This  may  sound  like  vainglory,  but  I 
am  far  too  deep  in  the  abyss  of  sin  to  deceive 
myself  in  that  respect.  I  say  it  not  boastfully  but 
in  fear  and  trembling,  with  deep  humiliation  that 
all  these  mercies  have  made  me  little  better  than 
if  I  had  them  not.' 

This  religious  crisis  happened  to  Drummond  in  the 
form  which  we  should  have  expected  from  his  upbring- 
ing. He  had  inherited  a  pure  and  healthy  nature.  He 
had  been  kept  from  the  grosser  sins  of  youth  and  he  was 
always  patient  and  unselfish.  But  with  the  religious 
doctrines  of  Evangelicalism  there  had  also  come  to 
him  a  very  sensitive  moral  temper.  The  Evangelical 
movement  had  many  defects,  which  in  his  younger 
days  Henry  shared  and  which  we  shall  see  him  un- 
learning; but  when,  as  in  his  case,  sincerity  was  the 
atmosphere  of  the  home  in  which  its  doctrines  were 
taught,  it  succeeded  in  creating  in  the  children  a  ten- 
der and  scrupulous  conscience,  and  by  urging  them 
to  the  consideration  above  all  of  their  personal  rela- 
tion to  a  just  and  merciful  God,  it  strongly  developed 
the  sense,  while  they  were  still  young,  of  their  individ- 


42  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1870 

ual  responsibility.  To  have  felt  the  awful  peril  of 
one's  own  character;  to  have  wakened  into  the  won- 
der of  God's  patience  with  one's  unworthy  life ;  to 
have  known  in  one's  own  experience  the  power  of 
man's  soul  to  turn  and  repent  —  these  are  the  essen- 
tials of  religious  experience  and  the  indispensable 
apprenticeship  of  a  religious  teacher.  It  is  not 
necessary  that  every  man  should  violently  break  into 
this  sense  of  God's  grace,  out  of  the  intoxication  of 
some  vicious  passion  or  from  the  weariness  and  de- 
spair of  a  long  habit  of  evil.  Pure  minds  like  Henry 
Drummond's  will  feel  as  powerfully  the  accumulated 
memories  —  an  avalanche  of  them  loosened  perhaps 
by  some  gentle  touch  —  of  a  lifetime  of  God's  com- 
mon mercies  and  of  His  daily  patience  with  their  wil- 
ful ways.  For  this  is  a  wonder,  of  which  every  day 
deepens  the  awe  to  their  sensitive  hearts.  Once 
when  talking  of  '  sudden  conversions  '  I  asked  Drum- 
mond  whether  he  had  passed  through  one.  '  No,'  he 
said,  after  thinking  for  a  little,  '  I  cannot  say  I  did.'1 
'  But,'  he  added,  '  I  have  seen  too  many  ever  to  doubt 
their  reality.' 

Drummond  was  thoroughly  sane.  With  the  deep 
seriousness  of  his  nature  there  mingled  a  strong 
humour  and  an  equally  strong  joy  in  sport,  of  which 
his  letters  of  this  summer  bear  many  signs.  He  had 
a  great  deal  of  fishing,  and  with  jubilation  over  his 
first  grilse  he  fills  of  his  brief  diary  nearly  as  much  as 
he  gives  to  the  spiritual  reflections  I  have  quoted.  In 
October  we  have  an  instance  of  his  fun.  Before  begin- 

o 

ning  his  divinity  course  he  had  to  be  examined  by 
the  Presbytery  of  Stirling.  This  is  a  right  which  the 
Presbyteries  of  the  Church  have  jealously  maintained 
over  the  theological  students  within  their  bounds. 

1  Compare  Dr.  Stalker's  testimony  below,  p.  70. 


&r.  19]  PREPARATION  FOR  THE   MINISTRY  43 

But,  except  in  the  matter  of  personal  religion,  the 
students  have  always  resented  this  superintendence; 
and  justly,  for  their  competence  in  scholarship  and 
theology  is  so  far  secured  by  the  General  Assembly's 
Examination  Board.  Hebrew  —  unfortunately  for 
those  who  teach  it  —  is  not  regarded  by  the  average 
man  as  indispensable  to  the  preacher,  and  the  para- 
digms of  its  grammar  are  especially  irksome  to  men 
who  have  already  toiled  through  a  university  course. 
In  the  beginning  of  October  Drummond  wrote  a 
friend:  'J.  W.  and  I  passed  the  Presbytery  exam, 
yesterday  with  much  eclat.  We  took  the  precaution 
beforehand  to  hide  the  Presbytery's  Hebrew  Bible 
in  the  coal-scuttle;  so  we  got  no  examination  in 
Hebrew.' 

In  November  Drummond  entered  New  College, 
Edinburgh,  the  youngest  of  twenty-five  or  thirty  stu- 
dents who  formed  the  First  Year.  The  divinity  course 
of  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland  occupies  four  winter 
sessions,  and  thus  at  New  College  there  are  always 
some  hundred  regular  students  of  the  Church,  besides 
twenty  or  thirty  others  from  America,  Ireland,  and 
the  Reformed  Churches  of  the  Continent  of  Europe. 
Among  a  hundred  men  studying  for  the  same  profes- 
sion there  is  bound  to  be  closer  fellowship  than  among 
the  far  larger  number  of  students  and  the  more  scat- 
tered interests  of  the  Arts  course;  and  during  Drum- 
mond's  time  at  New  College  this  bond  was  further 
strengthened  by  the  institution  of  a  common  dinner- 
table.  Given  a  certain  proportion  of  able  men,  the 
atmosphere  of  the  College  was  always  genial  and 
stimulating.  One  remembers  not  only  greater  matu- 
rity, but  more  buoyancy,  more  humour,  and  more 
camaraderie  than  in  the  University. 

When  Drummond  entered,  Robertson  Smith  had 


44  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1870 

just  left.  Andrew  Harper,  now  Professor  of  Hebrew 
at  Melbourne,  and  David  Patrick  (now  editor  of  Cham- 
bers s  Encyclopedia)  were  in  their  third  year.  W.  G. 
Elmslie,  afterwards  Professor  of  Hebrew  in  the  Pres- 
byterian College  of  London,  was  in  his  second  year, 
and  during  Drummond's  time  Smith,  Harper,  and 
Elmslie  were  in  succession  Dr.  Davidson's  assistants. 
In  his  own  year  were  James  Stalker,  John  Watson, 
and  two  other  of  his  intimate  friends  :  A.  S.  Paterson, 
who  died  in  1875,  at  Uitenhage,  in  South  Africa, 
and  John  F.  Ewing,  who  did  such  noble  work  in 
Melbourne  before  his  early  death  there  in  1890.  Two 
years  after  Drummond  there  came  up  to  the  New 
College  Peter  Thomson,  of  whose  great  abilities  we 
must  speak  later ;  and  D.  M.  Ross,  the  assistant  to  the 
Professor  of  Logic  in  the  University.  The  mutual 
part  of  their  education  the  students  transacted  chiefly 
in  the  Theological  Society,  which  met  on  Friday  even- 
ings. Drummond  must  have  had  some  reputation  as 
a  speaker,  for,  although  the  youngest  man  in  College, 
he  was  asked,  in  the  absence  of  the  student  appointed, 
to  lead  off  the  negative  side  of  a  debate,  'Ought  the 
government  to  provide  for  the  teaching  of  the  Bible 
in  schools  ? '  He  also  spoke  for  the  affirmative  of  the 
debate,  'Ought  the  Church  to  introduce  an  order  of 
lay  evangelists  ? '  and  in  his  letters  home  he  makes 
more  of  this  speech  than  of  the  other.  The  College 
Missionary  Society  met  on  Saturday  mornings  to  hear 
addresses,  and  to  arrange  the  conduct  of  a  college 
mission  in  a  district,  then  somewhere  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  the  Cowgaie.  One  of  the  students  was 
missionary-in-charge,  and  others  helped  him  with  the 
meetings  and  taught  in  the  Sabbath-school.  In  this 
work  Drummond  took  his  share  with  great  heart. 
The  families  he  visited  were  in  Covenant  Close. 


y£x.  19]  PREPARATION  FOR  THE   MINISTRY  45 

The  First  Year's  classes  were  Junior  Hebrew  under 
Dr.  Davidson,  Apologetics  with  Dr.  Blaikie,  Natural 
Science  with  Dr.  Duns,  and  a  short  course  of  lectures 
on  Evangelistic  Theology  from  the  famous  Indian  mis- 
sionary, Dr.  Duff.  Dr.  Duff,  then  in  extreme  old  age, 
had  preserved  much  of  the  fire  and  volume  of  speech 
which  in  their  prime  had  swept  through  Scotland  and 
carried  public  opinion  on  Missions  to  the  pitch  of 
enthusiasm.  And  still  his  reverend  figure  moved 
through  the  college,  an  object  of  awe  to  young  men 
who  knew  nothing  of  his  earlier  triumphs.  But  the 
six  weeks  allowed  for  his  subject  were  all  too  few  for 
the  scale  on  which  he  planned  his  lectures  and  for  the 
enormous  mass  of  details  that  he  threw  into  them. 
He  had  two  parallel  courses,  both  magnificent  torsos. 
One,  on  the  History  of  Missions,  began  with  the 
eternal  decrees  and  broke  off  with  the  early  Church. 
Another,  on  Hindoo  Theology,  did  not  seem  to  our 
bewildered  minds  even  to  arrive  on  the  margin  of 
history.  Little  wonder  that  so  rich  and  fiery  a  brain 
blazed  out  in  indignation  upon  the  indifference  of 
young  men  who  had  neither  the  theological  power 
nor  the  apostolic  fervour  of  their  teacher.  We  could 
not  follow  the  incarnations  of  Vishnu,  nor  rouse  our 
interest  in  the  patriarchs  before  Abraham.  '  How 

many  gods  have  the  Hindoos,  Mr. ?'   Dr.  Duff 

asked  a  luckless  student  of  Drummond's  year.  The 
student  kicked  Drummond,  who  sat  next  to  him 
and  who  whispered,  '  I  don't  know,  about  twenty-five, 
I  think.'  '  Twenty-five ! '  shouted  the  student,  gaily. 

'  Twenty-five,  Mr. !     Twenty-five !      Twenty-five 

million  of  millions ! '  There  were  not  many  of  the" 
Edinburgh  students  who  gave  themselves  to  foreign 
missions.  We  sorely  tried  the  great  missionary's 
heart.  Nothing  could  have  been  kinder  or  more 


46  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1870-71 

unselfish  than  his  treatment  of  us ;  he  was  very  zealous 
to  interest  each  man  in  India.  Drummond  snared  the 
common  apathy.  Besides,  his  mind  was  not  of  the 
order  that  was  carried  away  by  romance  or  by  the  en- 
thusiasm of  others.  He  needed  the  touch  with  the 
concrete,  and  this  he  got  years  afterwards  on  his 
travels  in  Africa  and  the  East,  with  the  result  that 
among  all  testimonies  to  foreign  missions  in  the  last 
half-century  none  are  more  thorough  or  more  sincere 
than  his.1 

It  was  to  Natural  Science  that  Drummond  chiefly 
devoted  himself  at  New  College,  and  he  easily  carried 
off  the  first  prize.  But  his  note-books  proved  that 
he  worked  hard  both  at  Hebrew  and  Apologetics. 
Besides  the  grammar,  Dr.  Davidson  then  gave  to  the 
First  Year  a  few  lectures  introductory  to  the  Higher 
Criticism  of  the  Pentateuch.  It  was  by  such  lectures 
that  Dr.  Davidson  started  in  the  early  seventies  the 
great  movement  of  Old  Testament  study  which  has 
characterised  Scottish  theology  during  the  last  thirty 
years.  He  did  not  then  take  his  students  beyond  the 
positions  reached  by  Ewald ;  but  that  was  sufficient  to 
break  up  the  mechanical  ideas  of  inspiration  which 
then  prevailed  in  the  churches,  while  with  the  teacher's 
own  wonderful  insight  into  the  spiritual  meaning  of 
Scripture  it  made  the  student's  own  use  of  his  Bible 
more  rational  and  lively,  and  laid  upon  a  sounder  basis 
the  proof  of  a  real  revelation  in  the  Old  Testament. 
Drummond  took  very  full  notes  of  Dr.  Davidson's  lec- 
tures. In  the  class  of  Apologetics  he  chose  for  the 
statutory  homily  which  he  had  to  deliver,  '  The  Six 
Days  of  Creation,'  a  subject  which  combined  his  inter- 
est in  the  Old  Testament  and  his  knowledge  of  Natural 

1  Later  than  his  course  Dr.  Carstairs  Douglas  pleaded  with  him  to  go  to  China, 
and  impressed  him  much,  but  nothing  came  of  this. 


JET.  19-20]  PREPARATION   FOR  THE  MINISTRY  47 

Science,  while  a  year  later  he  wrote  for  the  class  of  Sys- 
tematic Theology  an  essay  on  '  The  Doctrine  of  Crea- 
tion.' He  treated  this  under  two  heads,  the  Creation  of 
Matter  and  the  Creation  of  the  World.  Under  the  for- 
mer he  held  the  question  of  the  Eternity  of  Matter  to 
be  insoluble.  Under  the  latter  he  put  the  question 
whether  the  world  as  explained  by  Modern  Science 
was  irreconcilable  with  the  Scriptural  statement  of 
Creation?  Certain  scientific  schools  undoubtedly 
demand  '  Matter  without  a  Maker,  Intelligence  with 
Law  but  no  Liberty,  and  Life  with  Liberty  but  no 
Responsibility.'  The  most  glorious  attribute  of  their 
'  deity '  is  physical  necessity,  and  his  highest  prin- 
ciple of  action  utilitarianism.  But  granted  that  Nat- 
ural Selection  and  Evolution  are  facts,  they  are  not 
irreconcilable  with  the  belief  that  God  has  created  and 
sustains  the  world.  On  the  contrary  'this  belief  can 
allow  them  a  very  prominent  place,'  but  on  the  distinct 
understanding  that  this  place  has  been  previously  as- 
signed them  by  God,  and  that  they  are  under  His  super- 
vision and  care.  Looked  at  from  this  point  of  view,  the 
principle  of  Natural  Selection  becomes  a  real  and  beau- 
tiful acquisition  to  Natural  Theology,  and  Mr.  Darwin's 
work  on  The  Origin  of  Species  may  be  regarded  as  per- 
haps the  most  important  contribution  to  the  Literature 
of  Apologetics  which  the  nineteenth  century  has  pro- 
duced. The  same  year  Drummond  delivered  to  some 
Society  an  address  upon  Evolution.  He  affirmed  the 
principle  of  Development  as  an  eternal  principle,  the 
emphasis  upon  which  'has  been  the  century's  noblest 
contribution  to  Theology';  but  he  criticised  Darwin's 
enunciation  of  it  on  three  points:  'He  ignores  the 
existence  of  a  personal  God,  denies  God's  sovereignty, 
and  denies  the  existence  of  design  in  the  Universe.' 
These  notes  of  college  essays,  juvenile  and  crude,  are 


48  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1870-73 

of  interest  as  the  first  steps  of  Drummond's  mind 
towards  the  work  of  his  later  years. 

But  at  this  stage  Drummond  did  not  see  how  to 
apply  the  principle  of  development  to  the  origins  of 
Scripture  and  the  story  of  Revelation.  In  an  essay 
which  he  wrote  for  the  class  of  Apologetics,  he  asks : 
'  How  can  development  explain  the  Bible  ?  The  stages 
of  development  are  missing.  There  is  an  impas- 
sable gulf  between  the  Bible  and  the  rest  of  Hebrew 
literature.  .  .  .  The  Old  Testament  is  infinitely 
above  the  religions  of  the  peoples  who  surrounded 
Israel.'  It  has  '  no  cumbrous  ritual,  doubtful  morals, 
nor  mythical  elements.'  '  Theoretically  its  religion  is 
not  only  an  anomaly  to  the  Hebrew  nature,  but  to 
human  nature.'  The  one  sound  element  in  this  part 
of  his  paper  is  the  emphasis  which  he  lays  upon  the 
'inability  of  the  Jew  to  reach  unaided  by  Divine  help 
the  highest  doctrines  of  his  religion,  for  in  so  many 
cases  those  ran  counter  to  even  his  best  natural  ideals 
and  expectations.'  For  all  the  rest  Drummond  as  yet 
stood  upon  the  ground  of  the  older  orthodoxy,  with 
its  doctrine  of  literal  inspiration,  and  its  blind  belief 
in  the  absolutely  divine  character  of  everything  in  the 
Hebrew  Scriptures.  Blind  indeed,  else  how  could  he, 
or  that  older  orthodoxy  in  general,  have  believed  that 
there  are  no  links  of  development  between  the  Old 
Testament  and  the  religions  from  the  midst  of  which 
it  sprang,  or  that  in  the  Old  Testament  itself  there 
are  *  no  cumbrous  ritual,  doubtful  morals,  nor  mythical 
elements '  ? 

This  college  essay  is  of  interest  to  us,  as  indicating 
the  grounds  on  which  Drummond  stood  during  his 
first  great  mission,  but  which  he  afterwards  abandoned 
for  others,  not  less  evangelical  nor  less  capable  of 
defending  a  true  revelation  in  Scripture,  but  more 


Af.   19-21]  PREPARATION   FOR  THE   MINISTRY  49 

rational  and  more  in  accordance  with  the  facts  of 
Scripture  itself.  At  the  very  point  at  which  a  theo- 
logical student  is  most  disposed  to  be  sceptical  —  the 
close  of  his  first  session  in  theology —  Drummond  ac- 
cepted orthodox  Christianity,  not  after  any  passionate 
struggle  towards  the  contrary,  nor  with  any  strength 
of  original  thought,  but  upon  a  full  knowledge  of  the 
issues,  and  after  serious  consideration.  The  absence 
of  all  trace  of  revolt  is  characteristic.  Drummond 
never  appears  to  have  passed  through  a  crisis  of  that 
kind,  or,  if  he  did,  it  was  of  the  mildest  kind;  and 
when  the  symptoms  appeared  in  younger  men,  he 
treated  them  as  temporary.  He  called  them  '  measles.' 
And  the  effect  is  seen  in  all  his  teaching,  as  well  as  in 
the  limitation  of  his  influence  on  certain  classes  of 
minds.  To  Drummond  the  Christian  experience  of 
faith  was  one  not  so  much  of  struggle  as  of  growth. 
One  is  sometimes  impatient  with  his  beautiful  way  of 
putting  this.1  But  he  expounded  as  he  himself  had 
experienced.  His  temperament  was  the  artistic,  which 
is  sensitive  to  whatever  is  lovely  and  of  good  report, 
and  which  does  not  struggle  against  what  is  hostile  and 
superfluous,  but  simply  ignores  it,  as  Drummond  did 
with  certain  doctrines  upon  which  at  first  he  laid  such 
emphasis.  But  he  had  the  artistic  temperament  with 
two  additions  —  a  most  unselfish  consideration  for  the 
beliefs  and  prejudices  of  older  people,  and  a  most 
warm  moral  sense.  '  I  cannot  conceive '  (he  writes  in 
the  last  of  the  essays  we  have  quoted)  'of  such  a  thing 
as  the  moderate  punishment  of  sin,  for  "  every  sin 
deserves  God's  wrath  and  curse  to  all  eternity." '  This, 
though  in  the  words  of  the  Catechism,  was  no  mere 
echo  of  the  religious  school  in  which  he  had  been 
brought  up,  but  the  cry  of  his  own  heart.  Sin,  wrong- 

1  See  farther  on,  Natural  Law  in  the  Spiritual  World,  in  chap.  iv. 


5O  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1873 

doing,  self-indulgence,  were  the  only  subjects  upon 
which,  to  the  end  of  his  life,  we  ever  heard  hot  words 
from  him. 

The  sessions  at  New  College,  1871-72  and  1872-73, 
were  occupied  with  the  regular  classes,  —  Senior  He- 
brew, New  Testament  Exegesis,  Systematic  Theology, 
and  Church  History.  In  March,  1872,  Drummond 
wrote  a  paper  on  '  The  Person  of  Christ:  His  Divinity 
sketched  from  Certain  Aspects  of  Atonement.'  He 
continued  to  take  part  in  the  debates  of  the  Theo- 
logical Society,  of  which,  in  1873,  he  was  elected  one 
of  the  three  Presidents,  along  with  Stalker  and  Pater- 
son.  He  also  taught  a  class  of  boys  in  the  Sabbath- 
school  of  the  College  Mission.  He  was  anxious  to  fill 
up  the  long  evenings  with  study,  but  found  many  dis- 
tractions. His  reading  included  Ruskin,  George  Eliot, 
Carlyle,  especially  Sartor  Resartus,  much  poetry,  and 
The  Eclipse  of  Faith,  in  appreciation  of  which  he  came 
to  hard  words  with  a  fellow-student.  In  the  summer 
of  1871  he  went  to  Ireland,  and  wrote  the  account  of 
political  feeling  referred  to  in  the  last  chapter.  He 
had  much  fishing  and  a  walking  tour  in  the  Highlands. 
Everything  is  vividly  described,  and  his  letters  are  full 
of  humour.  It  was  during  these  two  sessions  that  he 
took  the  Science  classes  at  the  University,  to  which 
reference  has  been  made.  Professor  Archibald  Geikie 
offered  him  a  geological  tutorship  in  November, 
1872. 

At  the  close  of  his  third  session,  in  April,  1873, 
Drummond  did  what  a  number  of  Scottish  divinity 
students  do  every  year  —  went  to  a  German  university 
for  the  summer  semester.  Their  favourite  resorts  used 
to  be  Berlin,  where  Dillmann  and  Dorner  were ;  Halle, 
so  long  as  Tholuck  was  alive ;  Erlangen,  while  De- 
litzsch  and  Hoffmann  were  there;  Gottingen,  both  be- 


J£T.  22]  PREPARATION   FOR  THE   MINISTRY  5  I 

fore  and  after  Ewald's  death ;  and  Tubingen,  where, 
though  Baur  had  died  some  years  before,  Beck  was 
still  lecturing,  and  succeeding  to  a  great  measure  of 
Tholuck's  influence,  Weizsacker  taught  the  New  Tes- 
tament, the  great  Sanscrit  scholar,  Roth,  gave  a  course 
on  the  '  General  History  of  Religions,'  and  Wilhelm 
Pressel,  most  learned  and  most  genial  of  Pfarrers, 
opened  his  Pfarrhaus  at  Wankheim  to  all  Scottish 
students  and  introduced  them  to  the  German  lan- 
guage and  German  theology.  Drummond  chose 
Tubingen,  and  went  there  with  John  Ewing  and 
D.  M.  Ross.  I  do  not  know  which  classes  he 
attended.  More  important  was  the  general  life  and 
atmosphere  of  the  place,  and  this  he  enjoyed  to  the 
full. 

Who  does  not  that  goes  to  Tubingen  straight  from 
a  Scottish  winter  ?  The  glory  of  the  southern  spring 
and  summer ;  the  first  sight  of  vineyards  and  the  first 
tramp  through  a  real  forest ;  the  mediaeval  castles  and 
churches,  Urach  and  Lichtenstein,  Hohenzollern  and 
Bebenhausen,  the  hospitality  and  '  gemiithlichkeit '  of 
the  Swabians ;  the  genuine  piety,  with  other  forms  and 
larger  liberties  than  Scottish  religion  has  allowed  itself; 
the  social  side  of  the  students'  life,  their  '  kneipes,'  their 
music,  and  their  duels ;  the  first  impressions  of  the 
thoroughness  of  German  scholarship,  and  of  the  depth 
of  German  thinking ;  the  gradual  mastery  of  the  great 
language,  and  the  entrance  upon  the  vast  new  literature 
—  with  all  these  it  is  not  wonderful  that  so  many  of 
us  at  Tubingen  should  have  wakened  for  the  first  time 
to  what  Nature  is,  and  even  found  there,  in  a  sense, 
the  second  birth  of  our  intellect.  Henry  saw  a  number 
of  duels,  was  welcomed  by  a  Verein,  took  a  long  Whit- 
suntide tramp  through  the  Black  Forest  with  three  of 
its  members,  and  so  haunted  the  Wankheim  Pfarr- 


52  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1873 

haus  and  won  the  Pfarrer's  heart,  that  when  they  met, 
some  years  later,  in  Princes  Street,  Edinburgh,  the 
old  gentleman  rushed  at  him  and  kissed  him  on  both 
cheeks.  Altogether,  he  made  a  great  impression  on 
the  Tubingen  people,  as  he  did  everywhere,  by  his 
sunniness  and  his  sympathy ;  and  to  some  of  us  who 
followed  him  three  years  after,  it  was  enough  of  a 
passport  to  the  friendship  of  the  men  and  women 
most  worth  knowing  in  Tubingen,  that  we  were 
friends  of  '  Heinrich  Droomond.' 


To  his  Sisters 

1  TUBINGEN,  May  28. 

'  You  will  hear  that  I  am  going  my  tour  with  three 
German  students.  As  they  know  little  or  no 
English,  I  shall  have  great  chances  of  picking  up 
the  language,  but  I  find  that  one  has  really  to 
rely  almost  entirely  on  home  work,  for  it  is  per- 
fectly astonishing  how  little  one  really  learns  by 
conversation.  You  get  into  the  trick  of  ringing 
the  changes  on  a  few  sentences  and  phrases,  and 
one  is  apt  to  think  one  knows  far  more  than 
one  really  does.  I  find  it  is  no  joke  getting  up 
a  language ;  the  myriad  words  and  shades  of 
meaning  are  almost  appalling.  The  accent  in 
Tubingen  is  a  fearful  dialect,  which  Berliners 
cannot  understand  at  all,  at  least  when  the  peas- 
ants speak.  I  have  the  satisfaction  of  picking  up 
Hoch-Deutsch,  and  quite  steering  clear  of  the 
patois.  I  have  got  to  know  an  authoress  in 
Tubingen,  a  very  famous  lady  [probably  Frau 
Ottilie  Wildermuth,  authoress  of  the  charming 
Bilder  aus  Schwabenland~\,  and  she  has  invited 
me  to  her  house  as  often  as  I  like  to  come  to 


,Er.  22]  PREPARATION   FOR  THE  MINISTRY  53 

supper   on    Tuesday  evenings.      I   shall    not   be 
slow  to  avail  myself  of  her  kindness. 

'  P.S.  Hechingen.  Thursday  morning.  En  route 
for  Schwarzwald.  Morning  rather  misty.  Country 
splendid.' 

On  his  return  from  Germany,  Drummond  resolved 
to  postpone  his  fourth  session  at  New  College  for  a 
year  or  two,  in  order  to  give  himself  to  the  study  of 
Natural  Science,  and  to  regular  Mission  work.  He 
retained,  however,  his  position  as  President  of  the 
Theological  Society,  and  read  an  essay  before  it  on 
'  Spiritual  Diagnosis.'  He  had,  as  yet,  practically 
no  experience  of  religious  work  among  adults ;  yet  the 
essay  enumerated  the  principles,  and  laid  down  the 
methods  upon  which,  beginning  from  this  very  month 
onwards,  he  conducted  all  his  wonderful  ministry  to 
men.  I  did  not  know  of  the  existence  of  the  paper 
till  too  late  to  quote  it  here ;  but  Dr.  Stalker  sends 
me  the  following  recollection,  and  I  add  some  echoes 
of  it  from  the  criticism,  delivered  at  the  time  it  was 
read  by  Mr.  Barnetson,  now  Free  Church  minister  of 
Roslin :  — 

'  In  the  Theological  Society,  near  the  commence- 
ment of  the  session  1873-74,  he  electrified  us  with 
an  essay  on  Spiritual  Diagnosis,  the  thread  of  which 
I  still  perfectly  remember.  He  contrasted  the  clinical 
work  of  a  medical  student  with  the  total  absence  of 
any  direct  dealing  with  men  in  a  theological  curricu- 
lum, and  maintained  that  a  minister  can  do  far  more 
good  by  "buttonholing"  individuals,  than  by  preaching 
sermons.  The  essay  was  understood  to  be  purely 
speculative,  and  as  yet  there  was  no  word  in  Edin- 
burgh of  Mr.  Moody's  coming;  but,  within  a  month, 


54  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1873 

Mr.  Moody  had  arrived,  and  in  his  meetings  Henry 
was  putting  his  speculations  into  practice.' 

'  Gentlemen,  the  paper  now  read  in  your  hearing  is 
a  brilliant  one  in  many  respects.  There  is  an  earnest- 
ness of  purpose  and  a  definiteness  of  aim,  which  are 
manifest  at  the  outset,  and  never  flag  throughout.  He 
is  in  hot  haste  to  let  us  know  what  he  means.  After 
emphasising  our  Lord's  dealing  with  individuals,  he 
says :  "  We  know  well  enough  how  to  move  the 
masses,  how  to  draw  a  crowd  around  us  ...  how  to 
flash  and  storm  in  passion,  how  to  work  in  the  appeal 
at  the  right  moment,  how  to  play  upon  all  the  figures 
of  Rhetoric  in  succession,  and  how  to  throw  in  a  calm, 
when  no  one  expects  but  every  one  wants  it.  Every 
one  knows  this  or  can  know  it  easily,  but  to  draw 
souls  one  by  one  and  take  from  them  the  secret  of 
their  lives,  to  talk  them  clear  out  of  themselves,  to 
read  them  off  like  a  page  of  print,  to  pervade  them 
with  your  own  spiritual  essence  and  make  them  trans- 
parent, this  is  the  spiritual  diagnosis  which  is  so 
difficult  to  acquire  and  so  hard  to  practise."  "The 
scientific  treatment  of  the  power  of  spiritual  discern- 
ment "  is  the ,  felt  want  which  the  paper  expresses ; 
this  power  exercised  upon  another  for  his  good  is 
what  the  essayist  understands  by  "spiritual  diag- 
nosis." The  lack  of  such  a  science  he  laments, 
and  at  the  same  time  shows  that  there  is  a  reason 
in  the  nature  of  things  why  this  should  be.  He 
brings  forward  evidence  —  from  Solomon,  Plato,  Addi- 
son,  and  other  writers  —  for  the  reality  of  the  spirit- 
ual life.  To  get  the  variety  of  its  workings  and 
interworkings  reduced  to  scientific  classification  is  the 
great  task  before  pastoral  theology,  which,  if  achieved, 
would  supply  the  missing  link  between  college  training 
and  practical  work.  The  variety  of  phenomena  in  the 


JET.  22]  PREPARATION   FOR  THE  MINISTRY  55 

spiritual  life  he  finds  to  be  no  bar  to  a  spiritual  science, 
inasmuch  as  there  are  equally  numberless  phenomena 
in  the  sciences  of  chemistry  and  biology.  But  there 
is  a  difficulty  in  the  nature  of  the  facts  to  be  dealt 
with.  The  need  for  such  a  science  he  finds  in  seeking 
to  guide  an  awakened  sinner  to  Christ.  How  to  direct 
such  an  one,  how  to  note  the  changing  experiences 
and  their  precise  import — for  this  we  have  no  educa- 
tion. The  mere  skeleton  of  the  soul's  state  at  different 
stages  is  all  that  many  have  to  guide  them  in  the  deli- 
cate task  of  ministering  to  a  mind  distressed,  and  it  is 
quite  insufficient.  The  dangers  arising  from  this  want 
of  due  acquaintance  with  the  subject  are  next  dealt 
with,  and  a  warning  is  deduced:  "  To  avoid  the  Didac- 
tic and  practise  the  Attractive  must  be  the  rule." 
The  unsatisfactory  basis  on  which  spiritual  diagnosis 
rests  is  then  adverted  to  — "  it  rests  at  present  upon 
mere  individual  impression."  It  has  no  philosophic 
basis,  which  is  a  matter  of  profound  regret,  since  the 
scientific  method  could  be  so  easily  applied  to  it.  And 
the  paper  concludes  with  an  estimate  of  this  power  as 
seen  in  the  Puritans,  whose  humanity  he  reckons  not 
to  have  abounded  with  the  milk  of  human  kindness, 
and  also  with  an  axiom  for  spiritual  diagnosis :  "  Ten- 
derness and  courtesy  are  requisite  to  approach  the 
heart,  without  which  the  heart  is  approached  only  to 
be  shocked." ' 

In  these  recollections  two  of  Drummond's  character- 
istics are  very  evident,  —  his  sense  of  law  and  of  defi- 
nite order  in  all  religious  experience,  and  the  insist- 
ence upon  tenderness  and  courtesy,  of  which  qualities 
he  was  himself  one  of  the  most  perfect  examples  this 
generation  has  seen,  —  and  it  was  these  which  gave  him 
his  wonderful  power  over  the  individual. 

The  same  week  he  started  operations  as  missionary 


56  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1873 

in  the  Riego  Street  Mission  of  Free  St.  Cuthbert's 
Church,  then  under  the  collegiate  ministry  of  Sir 
Henry  Moncrieff,  Bart.,  and  Mr.  Gavin  Anderson.  He 
opened  with  this  appointment  the  second  of  his  brief 
diaries,  in  which  he  records  '  his  first  public  appear- 
ance, Mr.  Anderson  having  asked  him  to  take  the 
concluding  prayer  at  the  congregational  prayer-meet- 
ing. The  first  time  I  ever  faced  an  audience,  sensa- 
tions not  remarkable.  When  my  turn  came  I  trembled 
on  standing  up  —  considerably  all  through.  Tremour 
in  voice.  I  should  think  not  perceived ;  mind  kept  per- 
fectly clear  and  cool.  Voice  seemed  not  my  own,  but 
a  new  voice.  Have  no  possible  idea  how  it  sounded. 
Prayer  was  simple  and  to  the  point.  It  was  outlined 
in  thought  during  the  afternoon  —  a  sentence  or  two 
were  written,  but  then  not  all  remembered  at  the 
time.' 

'  I  was  more  than  satisfied  with  the  result.  Of 
course  there  was  nothing  of  my  doing  in  it!  Two 
years  before  this  he  had  found  that  he  spoke  much 
more  powerfully  extempore  than  when  he  wrote 
out  his  speeches  beforehand,  and  this  is  confirmed 
by  his  friend  Mr.  M'Culloch.  But  the  experience 
never  betrayed  him  into  laxity  of  preparation.  For 
his  meetings  in  Riego  Street,  attended  at  first  by 
only  a  dozen  people,  he  wrote  out  his  prayers  very 
carefully,  and  prepared  full  notes  for  his  addresses. 
'  To-night  held  my  first  prayer-meeting.  There  were 
ten  women  and  two  men  present,  all  the  right  class. 
Address  —  what  shall  I  say?  I  think  it  must  have 
been  very  poor,  particularly  as  to  the  delivery.  Was 
not  the  least  nervous,  but  did  not  know  exactly  where 
to  look.  People  listened  attentively  —  very.  One 
woman  (like  a  servant)  put  me  out  rather  by  laugh- 
ing, I  suppose  at  the  crudities  of  my  attempt.  It 


,£T.  22]  PREPARATION  FOR  THE  MINISTRY  57 

certainly  was  crude.     It  closed  with  a  bang,  i.e.  an 
abrupt  collapse ! ' 

So  the  diary  itself  closes.  The  following  week  a 
religious  movement  began  in  Edinburgh  and  spread 
over  the  country,  which  caught  up  the  stammering 
evangelist  to  a  higher  platform  and  gave  him  his  first 
extraordinary  influence  and  fame  among  men. 


CHAPTER    IV 

THE  GREAT  MISSION.     1873-1875 

TOWARDS  the  end  of  the  summer  of  1873,  two 
Americans  landed  at  Liverpool  with  the  purpose  of 
holding  religious  meetings  in  the  large  cities  of  Eng- 
land. To  quote  their  bills,  one  of  them  preached, 
and  the  other  sang,  the  Gospel.  The  singer  was 
the  younger  of  the  two,  thirty-four  years  of  age,  with 
a  strong  baritone  voice,  and  he  sang  sitting  at  an 
American  organ,  upon  which  he  accompanied  himself. 
The  one  who  preached  was  about  thirty-seven,  short, 
thick-set,  with  a  heavy  jaw  and  a  strong  American 
accent.  Their  names  were  American,  with  the  usual 
middle  initial  —  Dwight  L.  Moody,  the  preacher,  and 
Ira  D.  Sankey,  the  singer. 

In  their  own  country  the  men  had  already  given 
proofs  of  power,  and  their  personal  record  was  un- 
stained. But  they  came  to  England  with  no  fame 
and  hardly  any  credentials.  Their  methods  were 
strange  and  aggressive,  the  season  of  the  year  unsuita- 
ble, and  in  their  attempt  upon  Liverpool  they  failed. 
They  moved  to  York  and  found  as  little  sympathy 
there.  So  they  went  on  to  Newcastle  and  Sunder- 
land,  where  at  last,  after  a  few  weeks,  large  meetings 
were  gathered  and  thoroughly  roused.  Many  men 
and  women,  but  especially  men,  were  convinced  of 
sin,  and  professed  faith  in  Jesus  Christ  as  their 
Saviour.  The  news  spread  across  the  country. 

The  Rev.  John  Kelman  of  Leith,  who  had  heard 

58 


Mr.  22]  THE  GREAT   MISSION  59 

of  the  work  from  his  brother  in  Sunderland,  visited 
the  meetings  both  there  and  at  Newcastle.  By  what 
he  witnessed  he  was  convinced  of  the  real  power  of 
the  movement,  and  at  the  close  of  a  service  at  Walker 
he  gave  the  evangelists  an  invitation  to  Scotland. 
About  the  same  time  similar  proposals  reached  them 
from  Mr.  Hood  Wilson  of  Edinburgh  and  from  Dun- 
dee. Mr.  Kelman  strongly  advised  them  to  begin  in 
Edinburgh,  as  from  there  the  whole  of  Scotland  could 
be  most  easily  reached.  To  this  Mr.  Moody  agreed, 
and  Mr.  Kelman  returned  to  form  a  committee  and 
prepare  the  way.1  For  the  next  six  weeks  there  were 
daily  gatherings  for  prayer,  and  on  Sunday,  the  23d 
of  November,  the  Edinburgh  mission  was  opened  with 
a  very  crowded  meeting  in  the  Music  Hall,  at  which  Mr. 
Moody  was  too  ill  to  speak.  The  meeting  on  Monday 
was  in  the  Barclay  Church,  and  Mr.  Sankey's  organ  hav- 
ing been  broken,  he  did  not  sing.  With  these  inauspi- 
cious beginnings,  the  week-day  meetings  were  at  first 
but  fairly  large.  Only  a  few  of  the  leading  ministers 
were  present;  many  refused  to  intimate  the  mission, 
and  it  was  with  difficulty  that  Mr.  Sankey's  harmonium 
was  admitted,  even  into  some  of  the  churches  previously 
granted  for  meetings.  Every  week,  however,  the  tide 
rose,  and  by  Christmas  began  to  flow  in  volume.  On 
New  Year's  Eve,  a  crowded  watch-meeting  was  attended 
not  only  by  many  ministers,  but  by  a  still  larger  num- 
ber of  the  leading  laymen  of  the  town.  Members 
of  all  the  Protestant  denominations  professed  them- 
selves quickened.  The  prejudices  of  those  who  for 
years  had  resisted  every  attempt  to  introduce  instru- 
mental music  into  public  worship  were  overcome,  and 

1  Mr.  Kelman  acted  as  secretary  of  the  Edinburgh  committee.  Moody  wrote 
to  Drummond  some  years  afterwards:  'My  love  to  Kelman;  I  never  think  of  the 
work  in  Edinburgh  without  thinking  of  him.' 


6O  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1873 

they  lustily  sang  with  Mr.  Sankey  and  his  organ. 
The  most  respected  leaders  of  religion  spoke  from  the 
evangelist's  platforms,  helped  in  the  inquiry  rooms, 
and  instructed  the  young  converts.  Professor  Cairns, 
Professors  Charteris  and  Calderwood  of  the  University, 
Professors  Blaikie  and  Rainy  of  New  College,  Dr.  An- 
drew Thomson,  Mr.  Hood  Wilson,  and  Dr.  Horatius 
Bonar;  Dr.  Andrew  Bonar  and  Dr.  Marshall  Lang 
from  Glasgow ;  Mr.  George  Cullen,  Mr.  M'Murtrie  of 
St.  Bernard's  and  Mr.  Wilson  of  Tolbooth,  Mr.  William 
Arnot,  Mr.  James  Robertson,  Mr.  John  Morgan,  Mr. 
Whyte  of  Free  St.  George's,  Mr.  Knox  Talon  of  the 
Episcopal  Church,  Lord  Polwarth,  Sheriff  Campbell, 
Mr.  James  Balfour,  Mr.  William  and  Mr.  David  Dick- 
son,  Mr.  Brown  Douglas,  Mr.  David  M'Laren,  and  a 
number  of  lawyers,  doctors,  and  merchants  gave  their 
assistance.  On  all  sides  the  fire  spread.  Hundreds  of 
converts  were  gathered  from  the  careless  and  formal 
members  of  the  Church,  as  well  as  from  among  people 
who  never  went  to  church.  In  contrast  to  most  con- 
gregations, the  number  of  men  at  the  meetings  equalled 
and  sometimes  exceeded  that  of  the  women.  It  was 
possible  to  fill  one  church  after  another  with  young 
men,  and  to  see  in  each  a  hundred  rise  to  confess  that 
they  had  been  converted  by  God's  Word.  And  the 
work  became  a  general  subject  of  discussion,  some- 
times hostile,  but  always  serious,  among  all  classes  of 
society. 

The  secret  of  all  this  lay  open.  The  evangelists 
themselves  were  obviously  men  of  sincerity  and  power. 
They  made  mistakes.  Mr.  Moody  said  some  rash 
things,  as  a  foreigner  could  not  help  doing,  and  many 
crude  ones,  as  an  uneducated  man  must.  While  some 
of  his  addresses  were  powerful,  others  were  very  poor. 
But  these  faults  soon  sank  from  sight  in  the  deep 


yEr.  22]  THE  GREAT   MISSION  6 1 

impression  of  a  true  zeal  to  win  men  for  a  better  life, 
and  to  pour  fresh  power  into  the  routine  of  Christian 
work.  Men  felt  themselves  in  presence  of  a  Power, 
towards  whom  their  obligations  and  opportunities  were 
not  to  be  weakened  by  any  defect  in  its  human  instru- 
ments. And  as  time  went  on  the  sincerity  and  strength 
of  the  latter  became  more  apparent.  The  evangelists 
were  practical,  they  were  sane,  and  they  grew  more 
sane  under  the  influence  of  the  men  who  gathered  to 
their  help.  Mr.  Moody  suffered  no  fools,  and  every 
symptom  of  the  hysteria  which  often  breaks  out  in 
such  movements  was  promptly  suppressed.  The 
preaching  won  Scotsmen's  hearts  by  its  loyalty  to  the 
Bible  and  its  expository  character.  Next  to  Mr. 
Moody 's  passion  for  proclaiming  the  gospel  was  his 
zeal  for  instruction.  He  believed  in  the  Bible  class, 
and  like  some  other  recent  movements  in  Scotland, 
the  revival  of  Bible  classes  and  of  the  religious  instruc- 
tion of  youth  owes  not  a  little  to  his  example.  But 
his  practical  spirit  reached  farther.  His  gospel,  which 
had  its  centre  in  the  Atonement,  was  the  gospel  of 
an  Incarnate  Saviour:  no  mere  voice,  but  hands  and 
feet,  with  heart  and  brains  behind,  to  cleanse  the  cities 
of  their  foulness,  organise  the  helpless  and  neglected, 
succour  the  fallen,  and  gather  the  friendless  into  fami- 
lies. We  have  forgotten  how  often  Mr.  Moody  en- 
forced the  civic  duties  of  our  faith.  Yet  read  again 
his  addresses  and  articles  of  the  time,  and  you  will 
believe  that  in  the  seventies  there  was  no  preacher 
more  civic  or  more  practical  among  us.  He  re- 
awakened in  Scotland  not  a  few  echoes  of  Chalmers ; 
and  to  read  him  again  is  to  be  filled  with  surprise 
that  in  the  country  of  Chalmers  so  few  of  Moody's 
followers  should  have  sustained  the  more  liberal  key- 
notes which  he  struck  for  them!  Again,  Mr.  Moody 


62  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1873-74 

was  no  schismatic:  just  because  he  was  so  practical  he 
was  loyal  to  the  churches.  Hardly  educated  himself, 
he  emphasised  the  education  of  the  ministry.  He 
never  strove  for  applause  by  criticism  of  the  average 
clergyman,  nor  for  laughter  by  jeers  at  him.  He  knew, 
as  some  of  his  present  successors  do  not  seem  wise 
enough  to  know,  that  it  is  not  your  passing  evangelist, 
however  brilliant,  who  reaches  the  drifting  and  sunken 
of  our  cities,  but  the  parish  minister  and  city  mission- 
ary. But  the  chief  features  of  the  movement  were  its 
prayerfulness  and  its  ethical  temper.  Those  who  took 
most  part  in  it  knew  how  it  lived  by  prayer,  earnest, 
simple,  and  direct.  The  theology  was  stiff,  some  might 
say  mechanical,  but  it  was  never  abstract.  To  use  a 
good  old  word,  it  was  thoroughly  experimental,  and 
busied  with  the  actual  life  of  men. 

Over  the  town  and  neighbourhood  a  number  of 
meetings  were  addressed  by  ministers  and  elderly  lay- 
men of  position  in  Edinburgh.  It  was  after  the  evan- 
gelists had  been  at  work  for  some  time,  when  their 
gospel  was  well  known,  there  were  large  numbers  of 
inquirers,  and  the  emphasis  of  every  speaker  was  very 
properly  laid  upon  'decision  for  Christ.'  In  their  natu- 
ral anxiety  to  make  this  duty  appear  as  simple  as 
possible,  some  of  these  speakers  laboriously  succeeded 
in  exhausting  it  of  all  reality,  and  shut  up  their  hearers 
to  the  baldest  travesty  of  faith  that  was  ever  presented 
to  hungry  men.  A  young  man  who  had  not  heard 
Moody,  but  who  was  awakened  and  anxious,  listened 
for  several  evenings  to  these  speakers.  He  saw  them 
whittle  away  one  after  another  of  the  essentials  of 
faith,  and  call  him  to  a  reception  of  salvation  in  which 
there  was  neither  conscience  nor  love,  nor  any  awe. 
In  their  extremity  they  likened  the  acceptance  of 
Christ  to  the  taking  of  a  five-pound  note  offered  you 


jET.  22]  THE  GREAT   MISSION  63 

for  nothing,  or  of  a  glass  of  water,  or  of  an  orange ! 
The  veil  grew  thinner  and  thinner  between  his  eyes 
and  the  mystery  which  was  beyond,  till  at  last,  at  the 
touch  of  one  of  their  grotesque  parables,  it  tore,  and  — 
there  was  nothing  behind.  Religion  turned  out  to  be 
a  big  confidence  trick.  In  this  feeling  he  attended  a 
meeting  conducted  by  Mr.  Moody  himself.  The  crowd 
was  enormous.  The  sight  of  two  thousand  men,  all 
of  them  serious,  most  of  them  anxious,  plunged  him 
into  real  life  again.  The  words  of  the  hymns  he  heard 
were  poor,  and  the  music  little  better,  but  the  mystical 
power  came  back  with  them,  and  he  found  himself 
worshipping.  Mr.  Moody  began  to  speak  with  that 
Yankee  accent  in  which,  except  when  it  is  boasting  of 
its  country,  you  seldom  fail  to  feel  the  edge  of  the  real. 
There  was  an  occasional  exaggeration,  but  some 
humour  fell  and  swept  the  address  clean  of  every 
appearance  of  unreality.  Mr.  Moody  spoke  of  the 
peril  of  life,  of  the  ghastly  hunger  of  the  soul  without 
God,  of  conscience,  and  of  guilt;  then  with  passion 
and  with  tenderness  of  God's  love,  and  of  the  Saviour 
Christ,  who  is  among  us  to-day  as  surely  as  on  the 
shores  of  Galilee,  or  by  the  Pool  of  Bethesda.  Hun- 
dreds of  men  stood  up  in  silent  witness  that  they  had 
found  salvation,  and  the  young  man  knew  what  they 
had  found.  He  did  not  stay  behind  with  them,  but 
he  went  away  feeling  that  God  was  in  the  meeting, 
very  clear  what  Christ  could  save  him  from,  and  con- 
scious that  it  was  at  the  peril  of  his  manhood  if  he 
refused  to  follow  Him. 

The  movement  spread  over  Scotland.  Messrs. 
Moody  and  Sankey  spent  the  spring  of  1874  in  Glas- 
gow and  other  towns  in  the  west.  Everything  hap- 
pened that  had  happened  in  Edinburgh,  but  on  a 
larger  scale.  In  Greenock,  from  three  to  four  thousand 


64  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1873-74 

persons  heard  the  gospel  daily ;  there  were  meetings 
of  two  and  three  thousand  every  Sunday  morning  at 
nine.  In  Glasgow,  the  Crystal  Palace,  as  it  was  then 
called,  a  building  of  glass,  was  crowded  night  after 
night  with  five  thousand  people,  and  still  many  were 
turned  from  the  doors ;  it  was  nine  times  filled  in  six 
days.  There  would  be  from  fifty  to  two  hundred  in- 
quirers after  every  meeting.  The  body  of  the  church 
or  hall  would  be  occupied  by  groups  of  men  and 
women,  all  anxious,  and  many  weeping,  while  ministers 
and  their  friends  spoke  to  them  of  Christ.  Then  those 
who  '  accepted  Him '  would  be  asked  to  stand  up,  and 
often  all  did  so.  The  custom  was  to  reserve  every 
Monday  evening  for  a  meeting  of  converts.  At  the 
last  one  in  Glasgow  there  were  thirty-five  hundred 
present.  From  all  parts  of  Scotland  visitors  attended 
the  meetings  in  Edinburgh  and  Glasgow,  and  deputa- 
tions were  sent  from  these  centres  over  the  country. 
So,  when  the  evangelists  went  to  other  towns,  they 
found  their  way  prepared,  and  in  some  cases  the 
results  were  even  more  rapid  than  they  had  been  in 
either  of  the  capitals.  Stirling,  Perth,  Dundee,  Aber- 
deen, Inverness,  and  towns  to  the  east  and  north  of 
it,  Oban,  Campbeltown,  and  Rothesay  were  all  visited 
during  the  summer  and  autumn  of  1874.  Nor  did 
the  work  diminish  in  a  district  when  the  evangelists 
passed  on.  In  Edinburgh  it  was  said  that  the  results 
rather  increased  after  their  farewell  meeting.  The 
converts  were  organised :  twelve  hundred,  who  gave 
their  names  in  Edinburgh,  were  visited  every  fortnight 
for  the  next  two  years !  This  careful  supervision, 
attempted  also  in  other  places,  had  the  best  effect  on 
the  churches,  in  which  the  number  of  young  commu- 
nicants was  largely  increased.  Ministers  themselves 
were  quickened.  Although  some,  it  is  true,  were 


&T.  22]  THE  GREAT   MISSION  65 

tempted  to  become  sensational  and  others  to  rely  on 
the  Spirit,  without  seeking  to  deserve  His  aids  by 
their  own  study  and  prayer,  preaching  upon  the  whole 
was  stronger  and  more  fresh  than  it  had  been,  and 
new  heart  was  put  into  congregational  routine.  In 
1874,  Mr.  M'Murtrie  —  and  this  is  but  one  among 
many  testimonies  —  wrote  that  he  had  '  never  known 
so  happy  a  winter  as  last,  during  the  whole  course  of 
his  ministry.'  Dr.  Cairns  wrote  that  '  the  revival  had 
made  very  hopeful  the  whole  future  of  the  Bible  class 
in  Scotland.' 

But  the  power  spread  beyond  the  congregations, 
and  one  of  the  most  striking  features  of  the  movement 
was  the  social  and  philanthropic  work  which  it  stimu- 
lated. Like  all  religious  revivals1  this  one  had  its 
origin  among  the  well-to-do  classes,  and  at  first  offered 
some  ground  for  the  sneers  at  bourgeois  religion 
which  were  cast  upon  it.  But  Mr.  Moody,  who  had 
the  true  imagination  of  the  city,  and  the  power  to 
bring  up  before  others  the  vision  of  its  wants,  inspired 
the  Christians  of  Glasgow  to  attempt  missions  to  the 
criminal  classes  and  the  relief  of  the  friendless.  The 
lodging-houses  were  visited  and  every  haunt  of  va- 
grants about  the  brick-kilns  upon  the  South  Side  and 
elsewhere.  Temperance  work  was  organised,  and 
although  there  were,  as  always  in  that  work,  very 
many  disappointments,  a  considerable  number  of  poor 
drunkards  were  befriended  and  reformed.  A  huge 
tent  was  raised  on  the  Green,  and  afterwards  replaced 
by  a  hall,  which  became  the  scene  of  a  Sabbath  morn- 
ing breakfast  to  the  poor,  and  the  centre  of  a  great  deal  of 
other  philanthropic  activity.  New  interest  was  roused 
in  industrial  schools,  and  on  the  advice  of  Sheriff  Wat- 
son, a  veteran  in  this  line  of  education,  an  industrial 

1  Thorold  Rogers,  Lectures  on  the  Economic  Interpretation  of  History. 


66  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1873-74 

feeding  school  was  established  for  ill-fed  or  ill-clad 
children.  At  Saltcoats  a  house  was  bought  and  fur- 
nished for  orphans ;  new  impulses  were  given  to  the 
Orphan  Homes  of  Scotland,  founded  in  1871  by  Mr. 
Quarrier,  who,  with  his  fellow- workers  among  the  poor 
of  Glasgow,  had  given  inestimable  assistance  to  Mr. 
Moody 's  mission.  A  boarding-house  was  opened  in 
Glasgow  for  young  women.  Mr.  Moody  gave  great 
attention  to  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations,  and 
at  the  height  of  the  movement  secured  very  large  sub- 
scriptions for  their  foundation  or  expansion.  He  felt 
strongly  that  they l  had  been  conducted  upon  methods 
which  were  either  too  vague  or  too  narrow,  and  that 
for  their  success  *  clear  and  liberal  views  were  needed.' 
He  defined  their  aim  —  to  promote  the  spiritual  in- 
stincts and  look  after  the  temporal  wants  of  young 
men.  Each  '  ought  to  be  a  nursery  of  Christian  char- 
acter, a  most  efficient  evangelistic  agency,  a  centre  of 
social  meeting,  and  a  means  of  furthering  the  progress 
of  young  men  in  the  general  pursuits  of  life.'  But 
along  with  'liberality  in  your  aims  you  must  have 
thoroughness  in  details.  The  spiritual  must  be  dis- 
tinctly dominant.  Do  not,  however,  put  the  associa- 
tion in  place  of  the  Church;  it  is  a  handmaid  of  the 
Church  and  a  feeder  of  the  Church.  For  every  man 
it  must  find  some  work,'  and  '  use  every  particle  of 
power  in  the  young  convert.'  Again,  we  may  express 
the  wish  that  the  manly  and  liberal  views  of  the  evan- 
gelist had  been  carried  out  by  all  the  institutions 
which  he  did  so  much  to  invigorate.2 

1  See  a  letter  by  him  in  Times  of  Blessing,  vol.  i.  p.  4. 

2  Another  effect  of  the  movement  ought  to  be  recorded  in  Edinburgh  and  at 
other  places,  both  in  England  and  Scotland.    Some  Episcopalian  ministers  heartily 
cooperated  with  the  evangelists.     But  in  this  denomination  more  good  appears 
to  have  been  done  by  special  missions  and  conferences  by  their  own  clergy  in  the 
wake  of  Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey.    There  were  very  successful  missions  in 


vET.  22]  THE  GREAT  MISSION  67 

How  Henry  Drummond  was  drawn  into  this  great 
movement  I  have  not  been  able  to  trace  with  exact- 
ness. Soon  after  he  began  his  mission  in  Riego 
Street1  he  asked  a  fellow-student  if  he  had  heard  of 
the  two  Americans  who  were  evangelising  at  Newcas- 
tle, and  with  the  date  of  their  arrival  in  Edinburgh  the 
diary  of  his  own  work  stops  short,  as  if  he  had  been 
suddenly  carried  off  upon  some  larger  stream.  Two 
New  College  men  who  had  attended  one  of  the  early 
gatherings  in  Edinburgh,  and  had  stayed  behind  to 
see  the  novel  inquiry  meetings,  then  exciting  much 
jealousy,  were  asked  by  Mr.  Moody  to  assist,  and 
refused.  When  they  returned  to  their  lodging  they 
felt  some  shame  at  their  inability  to  speak  of  their 
Lord  to  anxious  men  who  were  seeking  Him,  and 
after  prayer  together  they  resolved  to  offer  themselves 
for  the  work.  To  Drummond's  own  mind  this  sus- 
pected feature  of  the  movement  must  have  appeared 
its  most  promising  element.  Here  was  the  very  factor 
which  he  had  missed  in  the  organisation  of  the  Church, 
and  for  which,  only  that  month,  he  had  been  pleading 
in  his  essay  to  the  Theological  Society.  We  can 
understand  how  his  keen  mind  watched  the  move- 
ment, and  in  spite  of  this  prejudice  in  its  favour,  found 
at  first  not  a  little  to  repel  him.  He  was  curiously  dif- 
ferent from  the  two  men  with  whom  he  was  to  become 
so  intimate  a  colleague,  —  not  in  theology,  nor  in  zeal 
to  win  his  fellow-men  for  Christ,  but  in  those  other 
things  that  by  the  bitter  irony  of  our  life  separate  us 
from  each  other  far  more  cruelly  than  even  the  divisions 
of  religion  do.  His  accent,  his  style,  his  tastes,  were 
at  the  other  pole  from  those  of  the  evangelists.  His 

Edinburgh,  conducted  by  Mr.  Pigou,  vicar  of  Doncaster,  and  Father  Benson ;  in 
Brighton,  by  Mr.  Hay  Aitken  ;  in  Leeds,  London,  and  elsewhere. 
1  See  pp.  55-56. 


68  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1874 

speech  was  quiet  and  restrained,  —  an  excited  preacher 
was  always  a  wonder  to  him,  —  he  had  a  perilous 
sense  of  humour,  and  I  do  not  think  that  he  ever 
really  cared  for  large  public  meetings.  Nor  did  the 
social  possibilities  of  the  movement  attract  him:  at 
this  time  he  had  not  the  civic  conscience.  But  from 
the  first  he  felt  Mr.  Moody's  sincerity,  and  the  practical 
wisdom  of  the  new  methods.  The  aim  at  the  individ- 
ual, the  endeavour  to  rouse  and  secure  him  —  this  was 
what  he  had  missed  in  ordinary  church  methods  and 
now  found.  The  inquiry  meetings  bridged  the  gap 
between  preacher  and  hearer,  and  brought  them 
together,  man  to  man,  before  God.  On  his  side  Mr. 
Moody  was  feeling  the  need  of  a  young  man  to  take 
charge  of  the  meetings  for  young  men,  and  it  is  a 
tribute  to  his  insight  that  he  chose  one  whose  style 
and  tastes  were  so  different  from  his  own.  At  first 
Drummond  was  employed,  like  other  students,  only  in 
the  inquiry  room.  'Often  he  was  to  be  seen  going 
home  through  the  streets  after  a  meeting  with  a  man 
in  whose  arm  his  own  was  linked.  He  wore  round 
his  shoulders,  or  rather  his  head,  a  tartan  plaid,  green 
and  black,  in  which  I  always  see  him  yet  when  I  recall 
those  days.  The  figure  was  extremely  picturesque. 

'The  next  stage  was  that  of  addressing  meetings, 
which  came  about  in  this  way.  As  the  marvellous 
work  developed  in  Edinburgh,  the  news,  of  course, 
flew  in  every  direction ;  and  requests  came  pouring  in 
from  all  parts  of  the  country  for  speakers  to  come  and 
describe  it.  These  were  dealt  with,  in  the  first  place, 
by  the  committee  who  had  charge  of  Mr.  Moody's 
meetings,  but  as  the  students  of  New  College  had 
gone  into  the  movement  nearly  in  a  body,  a  few  of  us 
shaped  ourselves  into  an  informal  committee  to  receive 
the  applications  and  send  out  deputations.  Of  course 


y£T.  22]  THE  GREAT   MISSION  69 

the  descriptions  of  what  was  going  on  in  Edinburgh 
were  combined  with  evangelistic  addresses;  and  the 
flame  of  revival  burst  out  in  one  place  after  another  — 
north,  south,  east,  and  west. 

'This  went  on  for  months,  and  Drummond  was  in 
the  thick  of  it  all  the  time.  I  still  remember  vividly 
some  of  his  deputation  work.  The  sympathy  of  young 
men  had  been  very  visible  in  Edinburgh,  but  it  was  in 
Glasgow  that  the  first  very  remarkable  meeting  for 
this  class  was  held,  and  the  feature  to  which  reference 
has  just  been  made  was  conspicuously  stamped  on  the 
movement.  The  meeting  is  still  remembered  in  Glas- 
gow, and  in  religious  circles  throughout  Scotland,  as 
"  the  hundred-and-one  night."  It  took  place  in  Ewing 
Place  Congregational  Church,  which  was  filled  with 
young  men.  Mr.  Moody  had  sent  to  Edinburgh  for  a 
deputation  of  students,  and  Stewart,  Miller  (now  of  the 
Bridge  of  Allan),  Gordon  (Vienna),  Brown  (Glasgow), 
Henry,  and  I  went.  Mr.  Moody  did  not  speak  at  all 
himself ;  but  Dr.  Cairns  of  Berwick  delivered  a  pow- 
erful address  on  Immortality;  then  the  students  spoke 
one  after  another;  and  Dr.  H.  J.  Wilson  wound  up. 
As  the  meeting  proceeded,  the  spiritual  power  was 
such  as  I  have  never  experienced  on  any  other  occa- 
sion; and  when  Mr.  Moody,  at  the  close,  ordered  the 
front  seats  to  be  cleared,  and  invited  those  who 
wished  to  be  prayed  for  to  occupy  the  vacant  pews,  a 
hundred  and  one  came  forward.  As  the  evangelist 
pleaded,  and  that  solemn  stream  began  to  gather  from 
every  corner  of  the  church,  the  sense  of  Divine  power 
became  overwhelming,  and  I  remember  quite  well 
turning  round  on  the  platform  and  hiding  my  face  in 
my  hands,  unable  to  look  on  the  scene  any  more. 
Yet  all  was  perfectly  quiet,  and  the  hundred  and  one 
were  men  of  intelligence  and  character,  who  were  not 


7O  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1874 

carried  away  with  excitement,  but  moved  by  the  force 
of  conviction.  I  do  not  remember  anything  remarka- 
ble in  Henry's  speaking  that  night ;  the  address  which 
told  most  was,  I  think,  that  of  Frank  Gordon,  whose 
speaking  was  characterised  by  a  wonderful  pathos  and 
passion.  When  we  six  went  back  to  the  hotel,  we  sat 
very  late  discussing  the  remarkable  scene  we  had  just 
witnessed.  Some  one  started  the  question  whether  it 
is  usual  to  remember  the  date  and  the  incidents  of 
one's  own  conversion.  At  such  a  moment  it  was  easy 
to  be  confidential,  and  it  turned  out  that  we  were 
equally  divided,  three  remembering  the  circumstances 
in  which  their  spiritual  life  began,  and  three  not. 
Henry  was,  I  think,  among  the  latter.  Each  of  us 
possesses  an  interleaved  Testament,  beautifully  bound 
in  morocco,  as  a  memorial  of  that  night ;  and  each 
book  contains  the  signatures  and  mottoes  of  all  six. 
These  Testaments  were  Henry's  idea,  and  he  pre- 
sented them  to  the  rest.  His  own  copy  went  with 
him  through  his  subsequent  evangelistic  wanderings, 
and  was  worn  to  rags. 

'  On  another  occasion  I  remember  that  Henry  and 
I  set  off  together  to  fulfil  two  engagements  without 
having  decided  to  which  place  each  was  to  go.  We 
talked  the  matter  over  as  the  train  carried  us  up  the 
Highland  line,  but  at  last  we  tossed  for  it.  I  went 
to  Inverness  and  he,  I  think,  to  Nairn  or  Elgin.  As 
matters  turned  out,  this  decision  was  very  important ; 
for,  where  he  went,  there  was  such  a  blessing  that  he 
felt  called  to  devote  himself  more  absolutely  to  the 
work;  and  he  used  to  speak  of  this  occasion  as  one 
of  the  turning-points  by  which  his  subsequent  work 
was  determined.'  Others  remember  that  Mr.  Moody 
himself  was  in  Elgin,  and  to  Drummond's  surprise 
opened  the  door  to  him  when  he  arrived  there. 


vET.  22]  THE   GREAT   MISSION  7 1 

It  was,  in  fact,  because  of  what  he  heard  or  saw  of 
this  work  in  Elgin  that  Mr.  Moody  sent  Drummond 
to  Sunderland  —  the  first  instance  of  his  policy  of 
setting  Drummond  to  continue  the  work  among 
young  men  at  places  which  Mr.  Sankey  and  he  had 
visited.  Stewart  either  went  with  Drummond  or 
joined  him  a  few  days  later,  but  'the  work  immedi- 
ately developed  to  such  an  extent  that  he  telegraphed 
for  help.  I l  sent  Ewing,2  who  up  to  that  point  had 
kept  out  of  the  movement,  but  was  instantly  caught 
by  its  spirit  and  soon  proved  one  of  the  most  power- 
ful workers.  In  subsequent  years  we  used  to  chaff 
Ewing  by  telling  with  what  fear  and  trembling  I  had 
sent  him,  and  how  aghast  Henry  was  when  he  heard 
who  was  coming  to  be  his  coadjutor.  Even  at  the 
time,  in  spite  of  the  solemnity  of  the  supernatural 
forces  in  the  midst  of  which  we  felt  ourselves,  there 
was  a  great  deal  of  high  spirits  in  our  intercourse.' 
The  deputation  went  for  three  days  and  stayed  a  fort- 
night, with  still  less  hope  of  getting  away,  for  the 
work  grew  past  all  belief  and  spread  to  the  neighbour- 
ing towns.  In  answer  to  urgent  invitations  the  three 
young  Scotsmen  visited  Newcastle,  South  Shields, 
Bishop  Auckland,  Hartlepool,  Morpeth,  and  Hexham. 
Sunderland  appears  to  have  been  fairly  aroused  by 
the  mission.  The  work  began  as  elsewhere  among 
the  middle  classes,  and  spread  to  the  working-men. 
All  denominations  took  part  in  it.  Members  of  the 
Society  of  Friends  were  among  the  hardest  workers, 
but  all  the  Nonconformist  ministers  gave  their  help, 
and  the  three  young  men  found  themselves  at  the 
head  of  a  large  and  influential  organisation  which 
they  had  to  superintend  from  day  to  day,  besides  con- 

1  Rev.  James  Stalker. 

2  Rev.  John  F.  Ewing,  afterwards  of  Toorak. 


72  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1874 

ducting  the  services  and  the  meetings  with  inquirers. 
It  must  have  been  a  tremendous  ordeal,  both  mental 
and  moral.  Ewing  used  to  speak  of  it  as  the  greatest 
month  of  his  life.  But  there  appears  to  have  been  no 
excitement,  and  the  large  daily  gatherings  for  prayer 
were  conducted  with  deep  earnestness.  The  results 
were  very  manifest:  the  after-meetings  were  large, 
very  many  members  of  church-going  families  were 
moved  to  a  real  decision  to  follow  Christ,  and  num- 
bers of  young  men,  who  had  not  been  to  any  church 
for  months  and  years,  professed  themselves  converted. 
The  tiny  Young  Men's  Association  rose  to  a  member- 
ship of  four  hundred,  and  a  year  or  two  afterwards  the 
work  done  among  them  was  declared  to  be  permanent 
and  still  spreading.  In  the  end  a  thousand  persons  in 
Sunderland  alone  gave  in  their  names  as  converts. 
Parents  were  so  stirred  that  arrangements  were  made 
to  extend  the  public  services  to  children ;  and  in  this 
delicate  work — the  propriety  of  which  Drummond 
afterwards  questioned,  believing  with  justice  that  reli- 
gion comes  to  a  child  most  naturally  through  its  home, 
—  some  amount  of  real  good  was  done,  in  spite  of  the 
artificial  and  premature  'experiences'  that  such  a 
movement  always  forces.  In  his  weekly  letters  to  his 
father  and  mother  Drummond  tells  the  following 

story :  — 

'  SUNDERLAND,  April  24,  1874. 

'.  .  .  You  see  I  am  still  here  and  do  not  know  when 
we  are  to  get  away.  Requests  are  pouring  in  on 
us  from  all  quarters  and  the  work  is  just  as  deep 
as  it  could  be.  We  have  three  meetings  each 
night,  one  exclusively  for  young  men.  Generally 
there  are  about  a  hundred  inquirers  in  all  every 
night,  and  as  most  of  these  come  to  the  light  before 
leaving  you  may  imagine  the  wonderful  nature  of 


JET.  22]  THE  GREAT   MISSION  73 

the  work  going  on  around  us.  We  got  Ewing  to 
help  us  yesterday,  but  my  health  is  just  as  good 
as  ever.  We  are  kept  at  it  from  morning  till 
night.  Schools,  infirmaries,  poorhouses,  etc., 
have  all  to  be  addressed,  and  the  work  has  got  in 
among  several  of  the  public  institutions.  Yester- 
day we  had  an  "  all  day  "  meeting  for  inquirers. 
The  young  men's  meetings  have  been  a  marvel- 
lous success  and  have  done  an  amount  of  good 
which  the  countryside  will  feel  the  influence  of 
for  generations.  They  are  going  out  in  bands 
to  work  the  neighbourhood,  and  as  there  is  a 
dense  colliery  population  they  may  do  a  great 
deal  of  good.  I  am  living  in  a  very  quiet  family, 
and  although  you  might  think  there  is  a  deal  of 
excitement  going  on,  I  seem  to  be  spared  it  all 
and  live  as  quietly  as  if  I  were  at  Killin.  .  .  . 
Next  week  we  shall  run  in  to  Newcastle  occasion- 
ally to  meetings  there,  but  one  of  us  will  always 
be  left  here.' 

'HARTLEPOOL,  May  6,  1874. 

'  The  people  here  have  been  very  pressing  for  some 
of  us  to  run  down  and  hold  a  couple  of  meetings, 
and  I  made  up  my  mind  to  comply  while  the 
other  two  went  to  Newcastle,  where  I  join  them 
to-morrow.  The  Sunderland  work  would  take  a 
week  even  to  sketch,  and  it  seems  to  have  reached 
all  classes  and  all  ages.  Among  the  schools  it 
seems  to  have  broken  out  with  force,  and  we  could 
spend  another  month  among  them  with  great  profit. 
On  Sunday  I  had  an  enormous  children's  meeting 
and  a  hundred  and  fifty  remained  to  an  after-meet- 
ing. In  the  evening  we  had  the  Victoria  Hall 
crammed  (with  adults)  and  a  very  large  number  en- 
tered the  inquiry  room  at  the  close.  On  Monday 


74  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1874 

evening  we  had  a  farewell  meeting  with  the  young 
converts.  There  was  a  large  church  full  and  it  was 
one  of  the  happiest  meetings  I  was  ever  at.  The 
general  impression  in  Sunderland  is  that  the  work 
is  just  beginning,  and  although  we  have  left  the 
place,  I  expect  we  shall  have  to  go  back  again. 
To  give  you  an  idea  of  the  work  in  Sunderland  I 
may  say  that  upwards  of  three  hundred  names 
were  given  in  at  the  young  meris  meeting  alone  of 
young  men  who  had  professed  to  have  been  con- 
verted during  the  three  weeks  of  the  meetings. 
One  minister  of  a  small  chapel  stated  after  the  first 
fortnight  that  forty  had  been  converted  already 
out  of  his  little  flock.  To  me  the  whole  matter 
seems  an  unreal  dream.  It  is  impossible  to  real- 
ise it.  I  suppose  it  was  never  meant  we  should. 
Hartlepool  is  a  little  chilly  after  Sunderland.  .  .  . 
The  whole  countryside  is  ripe  here,  and  I  do  not 
really  know  when  this  English  tour  of  ours  is  to 

end.' 

'SUNDERLAND,  May  12,  1874. 

'  I  am  leading  a  very  wandering  life.  .  .  .  Our 
hands  are  very  full  here.  We  have  applications 
from  all  quarters  to  go  to  work.  Our  present 
duty,  however,  is  to  stay  in  Sunderland.  We 
have  given  it  a  rest  this  week  and  are  working 
Newcastle  and  Bishop  Auckland,  but  next  week 
we  are  to  have  a  great  week  of  meetings  here  for 
all  classes,  and  a  special  one  each  night  for  young 
men  only  and  probably  another  one  for  children. 
The  work  among  children  has  been  most  wonder- 
ful, and  we  have  visited  Sabbath  and  Day  Schools. 
As  you  can  guess,  we  started  with  but  a  very 
meagre  stock  of  material,  and  have  got  on  won- 
derfully. I  should  much  like,  however,  to  have  a 


.  22]  THE  GREAT  MISSION  75 

few  of  those  American  Sabbath  School  Messengers, 
as  my  stock  of  illustrations  is  worn  absolutely 
threadbare.  If  you  come  across  anything  nice 
you  might  also  send  it,  and  A.  might  join  in  the 
hunt.  I  am  really  anxious  about  this,  and  I  hope 
you  will  manage  to  send  a  few  scraps  before 
many  posts  are  passed.  .  .  .  On  Monday  we 
had  another  converts'  meeting  —  a  large  church 
full.  The  Sunday  evening  meeting  has  become 
quite  an  institution  in  the  town,  and  is  having  an 
extraordinary  influence  on  all  classes.  There  are 
always  three  thousand  or  four  thousand  present 
and  we  have  always  a  large  prayer-meeting.' 

'  HEXHAM,  June  9,  1874. 

'  I  got  here  on  Saturday  evening  after  a  good  week 
at  Sunderland.  We  worked  two  meetings  each 
night,  but  the  one  was  six  miles  off  so  that  we 
only  had  one  each  to  attend  to.  The  results  were 
most  satisfactory.  I  think  there  would  be  about 
a  hundred  in  each  place  —  I  cannot  say  exactly 
converted,  but  under  very  deep  impression. 
One  night  I  spent  at  Morpeth  and  had  a  very 
nice  meeting.  On  Sunday  I  had  no  less  than 
three  meetings  here,  all  very  interesting.  Thev 
were  just  about  to  close  the  meetings  which  have 
been  going  on  for  some  weeks.  They  thought  the 
thing  was  getting  played  out,  but  they  seem  to 
have  taken  a  fresh  start,  and  the  meetings  this 
week  have  been  the  biggest  they  have  ever  had. 
Half  the  audience  last  night  were  church  peo- 
ple. ...  If  the  work  had  been  bad  I  should 
have  been  with  you  to-morrow,  but  I  see  now  it 
will  not  do  to  break  off.  You  know  every  night 
counts.  As  to  my  health,  I  think  I  am  stronger 


76  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1874 

than  ever.  There  could  not  be  a  more  healthy 
place  than  this,  and  I  take  the  whole  day  in  the 
woods  and  hills.  I  am  engaged  all  week  at 
Shields,  but  on  Saturday  I  could  get  free  for  a 
few  days  and  we  might  have  a  ramble  together.' 

'SOUTH  SHIELDS,  June  26,  1874. 

'  The  work  here  has  been  steady.  Results  not  like 
Sunderland  exactly,  but  I  think  we  ought  to  be 
very  well  satisfied.  I  am  pressed  to  stay  and  will 
probably  be  either  here  or  in  the  neighbourhood.' 

From  another  place,  the  same  month. 

'  .  .  .  I  had  got  thus  far  when  a  long  interruption 
occurred.  The  gentleman  with  whom  I  am  living 
opened  up  his  whole  past  history  to  me  —  a  very 
chequered  one  it  has  been  —  and  I  think  our  visit 
will  be  the  means  of  doing  him  some  good.  I 
could  not  stop  his  yarn,  as  I  saw  something  per- 
haps was  to  come  of  it.  This  is  a  specimen  of 
the  kind  of  private  work  which  we  have  to  do  in 
every  house  we  stay  at,  with  scarcely  an  exception.' 

Meetings  of  three  and  four  thousand,  daily  addresses 
to  hundreds  of  young  men,  a  constant  confessional, 
crowds  of  anxious  inquirers,  urgent  invitations  from 
all  quarters,  the  success  of  the  work  obviously  de- 
pendent upon  his  presence,  ministers  and  leading  lay- 
men in  many  towns  looking  to  him  as  their  chief,  the 
sense  (right  or  wrong)  that  the  Christianity  of  the  next 
generation  in  these  places  might  largely  be  determined 
by  the  work  he  had  charge  of  —  conceive  of  all  this 
falling  to  a  man  not  quite  twenty-three !  It  might 
well  seem  to  him  '  an  unreal  dream.'  Yet  there  is  abun- 
dant evidence  in  his  letters  that  he  did  not  lose  his 


JET.  22]  THE  GREAT   MISSION  77 

head  nor  suffer  his  natural  spirit  to  be  warped.  He 
kept  his  interest  in  the  common  affairs  of  home, 
wrote  about  his  younger  brother's  egg-collecting,  and 
looked  forward  as  eagerly  as  any  school-boy  to  a  holiday 
with  his  mother.  From  outside  testimony,  he  seems 
to  have  depreciated  rather  than  exaggerated  the  results 
of  the  work.  He  remained  shrewd  and  sensible ;  and 
it  was  already  noticed  of  him  that,  as  in  all  his  later 
years,  he  never  betrayed,  either  on  or  off  the  platform, 
one  secret  of  the  many  hundreds  that  must  have  been 
confided  to  him  by  those  who  sought  his  counsel  and 
inspiration.  The  Sunderland  Mission  made  Drum- 
mond  a  man.  He  won  from  it  not  only  the  power  of 
organising  and  leading  his  fellow-men,  but  that  insight 
into  character,  that  knowledge  of  life  on  its  lowest  as 
on  its  highest  levels,  that  power  of  interest  in  every 
individual  he  met,  which  so  brilliantly  distinguished 
him,  and  in  later  years  made  us  who  were  his  friends 
feel  as  if  his  experience  and  his  sympathy  were 
exhaustless. 

When  Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey  closed  their  Scot- 
tish Mission  at  Rothesay  in  the  beginning  of  Septem- 
ber, they  passed  over  to  Belfast,  where  they  stayed  for 
five  weeks.  Here  the  same  huge  meetings,  the  same 
large  number  of  inquirers  and  of  converts,  followed 
their  work  as  in  Scotland.  When  they  moved  to 
Londonderry  they  sent  for  Drummond  (who  had  spent 
his  holidays  fishing  and  evangelising  in  Orkney  and 
Shetland)  to  continue  the  work  in  Belfast;  and,  with 
his  friend  James  Stalker,  he  began  to  address  meetings 
there  about  the  8th  of  October.  When  the  mission 
opened  in  Dublin  he  moved  to  Deny,  and  carried  on 
the  work  alone  for  some  weeks.  He  had  been  at 
home  for  part  of  the  autumn,  and  his  people  had  urged 
him  to  resume  his  theological  studies  the  next  winter 


78  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1874 

session.  In  the  following  letter  he  gives  evidence  not 
only  of  his  resolution  to  abide  by  the  mission  so  long 
as  it  should  need  him,  but  of  that  clearness  of  percep- 
tion as  to  what  his  own  proper  work  was,  and  that 
quiet  power  of  overcoming  all  influence  to  the  con- 
trary, which  was  so  marked  a  feature  of  his  character. 

'LONDONDERRY,  Oct.  19,  1874. 

' .  .  .  Just  a  few  lines  from  the  seat  of  war  to  tell 
you  how  things  are  going  on.  The  enemy  is  fall- 
ing by  hundreds.  I  think  Derry  beats  any  work 
I  have  been  in  by  a  great  deal.  The  first  meeting 
almost  overwhelmed  me.  Moody  was  here  for 
four  days,  and,  leaving  on  Thursday  morning,  sent 
me  to  keep  up  the  meetings.  The  place  was  first 
roused  thoroughly,  and  no  more.  When  I  came 
I  found  the  biggest  church  here  filled  to  the  last 
seat.  I  think  it  was  one  of  the  most  impressive 
meetings  I  have  seen.  The  inquiry  meetings  were 
far  bigger  than  any  they  had  had  —  amongst  them 
seventy  young  men.  On  Saturday  we  had  a  con- 
verts' meeting.  Last  night  another  evangelistic 
meeting ;  the  church  crowded  to  the  pulpit  stairs 
half  an  hour  before  the  time.  There  were  more 
than  three  hundred  anxious.  Of  course  I  cannot  go 
to  Dublin  for  some  time.  I  have  just  telegraphed 
to  Moody.  I  feel  the  responsibility  of  the  work 
here  is  very  great.  Being  sent  here  by  Moody, 
and  being  the  only  worker,  I  have  full  swing  of 
the  entire  work.  It  is  far  too  much  for  me,  and  I 
am  almost  frightened  when  I  think  of  it.  One 
very  fine  feature  of  the  movement  here  is  the  hold 
it  has  taken  amongst  the  young  men.  I  believe 
there  were  one  hundred  and  fifty  (young  men 
alone)  anxious  last  night,  and  about  one  hundred 


JEr.  22]  THE  GREAT   MISSION  79 

have  already  decided  before  that,  and  were  at  the 
converts'  meeting  on  Saturday. 
'  I  suppose  I  am  fairly  engaged  now  to  follow  Moody 
all  winter,  and  take  his  young  men's  meetings.  I 
cannot  help  thinking  more  and  more  every  day 
that  this  is  the  work  God  has  planned  for  me  this 
session.  Why  I  should  have  such  a  tremendous 
privilege  is  the  only  mystery  to  me.  I  do  not 
believe  there  has  ever  been  such  an  opportunity 
for  work  in  the  history  of  the  Church.  Moody 
says  if  the  young  men's  meeting  can  be  kept  up 
in  every  town,  he  believes  there  will  be  ten  thou- 
sand young  men  converted  before  the  winter  is 
over.  What  a  tremendous  thought!  In  the  light 
of  all  this,  I  cannot  help  thinking,  as  I  have  said, 
that  the  path  I  have  chosen  for  the  next  months 
is  the  path  which  God  has  lit  up  for  me.  I  was 
very  uncomfortable  when  I  was  at  home  last  — 
you  all  seemed  so  much  against  it,  and  I  felt  it 
more  than  you  think.  But  now  I  feel  I  must  go 
onward,  the  pointing  of  the  Finger  has  grown 
plainer  and  less  unmistakable  than  ever.  I  feel 
as  if  I  dared  not  draw  back.  I  wish  you  could 
all  see  it  too.' 

To  Dublin  the  evangelists  went  with  some  trepida- 
tion. One  correspondent  warned  them  of  failure  in  a 
truly  Hibernian  style :  '  I  have  seen  so  many  of  these 
revivals,  and  they  all  end  worse  than  they  were  before 
they  began ! '  Their  first  meeting  in  the  Exhibition 
Palace  was  reckoned  at  ten  thousand ;  and  although  for 
some  time  after  that  the  work  went  more  slowly  than 
any  since  the  Edinburgh  Mission,  it  ultimately  reached 
even  greater  dimensions  than  the  evangelists  had  yet 
experienced.  This  increase  was  partly  due  to  the 


8O  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1874 

hearty  cooperation,  for  the  first  time  in  the  history 
of  the  movement,  of  the  Episcopalian  clergy,  while 
the  daily  press  chronicled  the  meetings  with  a  fulness 
never  displayed  elsewhere.  '  Men  of  all  the  Church 
parties  attended  the  meetings.  Three  of  the  Bishops 
have  been  at  them ;  and  one  of  these,  the  Bishop  of 
Kilmore,  has  warmly  commended  "  the  wonderful  work 
in  Dublin"  while  presiding  over  his  Synod.  The 
Bishop  of  Derry  at  the  reopening  of  York  Minster 
said  that  "  in  Scotland  and  Ireland  a  strong  fervour 
had  been  awakened,  and  hundreds  and  thousands  had 
been  made  earnest  by  a  single  voice  singing  the  Gospel 
of  Jesus  Christ."  The  Rev.  Lord  Plunket,  while  "  not 
personally  relishing  all  the  accompaniments  of  their 
teaching,"  blessed  God  "  for  the  good  which  is  being 
done  by  our  American  visitors,"  and  rejoiced  "that 
Christ  is  being  preached,  and  souls  are  being  saved." 
Many  Roman  Catholics  frequented  the  meetings.  Al- 
though the  evangelists  were  working  for  the  first  time 
in  a  population  the  majority  of  which  was  Catholic, 
they  made  so  great  an  impression  of  the  real  good 
they  were  doing  that  one  Catholic  newspaper,  The 
Nation,  severely  rebuked  another  for  abusing  them, 
and  bade  them  Godspeed.  This  impression  could 
never  have  been  secured  had  Mr.  Moody  used  contro- 
versy or  denunciation,  but  these  he  wisely  avoided.' 1 

There  was  unity  among  Christians.  In  the  first 
week  of  December  a  Convention  was  held,  for  which 
the  railway  companies  offered  tickets  from  all  parts 
of  Ireland.  On  the  Tuesday  an  '  all  day'  meeting  was 
attended  by  fifteen  thousand  people  in  the  Exhibition 
Palace,  and  there  were  nearly  one  thousand  ministers 
present,  in  seats  reserved  for  them.  The  topics  chosen 

1  The  above  details  are  from  letters  to  The  Times  of  Blessing  in  November, 
1874,  by  Dr.  Fleming  Stevenson. 


JEr.  23]  THE   GREAT  MISSION  8 1 

were  '  Praise  and  Thanksgiving,'  '  How  to  reach  the 
Masses,'  and  '  How  to  fill  Ireland  with  the  Gospel.' 
These  were  introduced  by  two  Episcopalians  and  a 
Presbyterian,  and  discussed  by  ministers  of  other  com- 
munions. Mr.  Moody  himself  spoke  on  Sectarian- 
ism. '  God  had  vouchsafed  a  blessed  unity.  Woe  to 
the  unhappy  person  who  should  break  it!  Yet  it 
would  be  broken  if  there  was  proselytism.  The  cry 
is,  "  Come  out !  Come  out  from  a  sect ! "  But  where  ? 
Into  another  sect !  The  spirit  that  is  always  prose- 
lytising is  from  Satan.  I  say,  Stay  in.  If  you  have 
a  minister  that  preaches  Christ,  stand  by  him.  You 
will  get  nothing  but  trouble  and  pride  by  leaving 
him.  There  are  people  who  consider  that  denouncing 
churches  and  finding  fault  with  ministers  is  "bearing 
testimony."  These  people  will  "  bear  testimony  "  for 
years,  and  that  is  all  Christ  gets  from  them.  I  warn 
you,  beware  of  trying  to  get  people  away  from  the  folds 
where  they  have  been  fed.  The  moment  we  begin  to 
lift  up  our  little  party  or  our  Church,  then  the  Spirit  of 
God  seems  to  leave  and  there  is  no  more  conversion.' 
Drummond  came  to  Dublin  for  a  meeting  of  men 
on  Sunday,  November  8th.  There  were  nearly  three 
thousand  present,  and  at  the  close  a  large  number  of 
inquirers.  On  December  3d  Dr.  Fleming  Stevenson 
writes :  — 

'  For  some  time  past  another  large  meeting  had  been  con- 
ducted in  the  Metropolitan  Hall  at  the  same  hour  as  the 
evening  inquiry  meeting,  and  yet  the  attendance  at  both  has 
increased.  It  is  exclusively  for  young  men,  and  is  conducted 
by  Mr.  Henry  Drummond,  who  was  urgently  entreated  to 
leave  work  of  the  same  kind  at  Derry  that  he  might  come 
up  to  this.  At  first  it  seemed  harder  to  deal  with  them  and 
less  impression  was  made  than  elsewhere  ;  but  that  is  all  past, 
and  probably  there  are  nowhere  more  striking  instances  of 
the  grace  of  God.' 


82  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1874 

Drummond  himself  said  at  Manchester  that  during 
four  weeks  of  young  men's  meetings  in  Dublin  from 
ten  to  fifty  were  converted  every  night,  that  in  one 
business  place  alone  there  had  been  seventy-five  con- 
verts, and  that  altogether  hundreds  had  sent  in  their 
names  as  converts.  To  judge  from  the  letters  he 
afterwards  received  from  Dublin,  these  were  mainly 
artisans,  shopmen,  and  clerks.  Some  of  them  were 
quite  uneducated ;  the  first  result  of  their  conversion 
to  Christ  was  usually  a  strong  passion  to  learn  to  read. 
One  poor  fellow  who  had  taught  himself  in  a  few 
months  after  his  conversion  writes :  '  Since  you  left 
Dublin  I  had  had  such  a  creatin  [?]  Happeytite  long- 
ing for  the  knowledge  of  the  Holy  Bible.'  But  this 
is  the  only  grotesque  testimony  out  of  many. 

Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey  opened  their  mission 
in  Manchester  on  a  dark  Sunday  of  drenching  rain.1 
Yet  they  gathered  a  meeting  of  two  thousand  workers 
at  eight  in  the  morning  and  two  other  meetings  later 
in  the  day,  for  which  the  Free  Trade  and  Oxford  halls 
were  required.  They  stayed  in  Manchester  a  month. 
On  New  Year's  Eve  they  began  in  Sheffield,  on 
January  lyth  in  Birmingham,  and  on  February  5th 
in  Liverpool.  In  all  three  towns  the  same  features 
marked  their  work  as  in  Dublin,  Belfast,  Glasgow, 
and  Edinburgh :  enormous  meetings  from  the  very 
start,  at  first  small,  ultimately  large,  numbers  of  con- 
verts, the  quickening  of  church  life,  and  a  very  wide- 
spread interest  among  the  general  population.  They 
had  gatherings  of  Christian  workers  at  eight  on  Sunday 
mornings,  from  two  to  four  thousand  in  number.  The 
historic  halls  of  the  cities — the  Free  Trade,  the  Bingley, 
the  Albert  —  were  crammed  on  Sunday  evenings,  and, 
in  spite  of  overflow  meetings,  the  streets  around  were 

1  November  29th. 


MT.  23]  THE  GREAT  MISSION  83 

filled  in  the  rain  and  the  darkness  with  crowds  singing 
hymns.  In  Liverpool  a  wooden  hall  was  erected  to 
seat  eight  thousand.  Though  the  Church  of  England 
clergy  generally  refused  to  act  on  the  executive  com- 
mittee, and  in  one  or  two  places  withdrew  altogether 
from  the  work  because  some  of  its  prominent  supporters 
took  part  at  the  same  time  in  Liberation  meetings,  a 
group  of  them  were  always  found  on  Mr.  Moody 's  plat- 
form, and,  in  Sheffield  and  Liverpool  especially,  they 
assisted  with  prayers  and  addresses.  Practically  all 
the  Nonconformist  ministers  gave  help,  at  their  head 
MacLaren  of  Manchester  and  Dale  of  Birmingham. 

Through  all  these  cities  Drummond  followed  the 
evangelists  with  his  meetings  for  young  men,  and 
(except  in  Sheffield)  with  the  usual  breadth,  depth, 
and  permanent  results  of  his  influence.  The  fol- 
lowing extracts  from  his  letters  show  this,  as  well  as 
the  many  anxieties  which  now  began  to  try  him.  The 
letters  are  mostly  to  his  mother. 

'MANCHESTER,  Friday,  Dec.   ? 

1  The  work  here  is  very  fair,  perhaps  not  so  enthu- 
siastic as  in  some  places,  but  what  can  be  done 
in  a  fortnight  with  six  hundred  thousand  people. 
My  department  is  not  yet  in  full  working  order. 
The  young  men  have  never  been  reached  yet  in 
any  numbers,  but  we  shall  make  an  extra  effort 
next  week  and  try  to  get  them  moved.  There  is  not 
so  much  unity  among  the  ministers  as  one  would 
like  to  see,  and  the  Church  party  have  had  a  feud 
with  the  other  ministers  which  cannot  be  broken 
up  in  a  day.  The  enclosed  card  is  to  be  left  by 
Christian  workers  in  every  house  in  Manchester 
before  the  New  Year,  a  gigantic  undertaking !  I 
think  it  will  do  great  good,  not  the  actual  card 


84  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1874-75 

exactly,  but  it  will  give  the  hundreds  of  workers 
an  introduction  to  thousands  of  people.  I  do  not 
expect  to  make  many  friends  here.  You  know 
when  the  work  is  not  boiling  hot,  there  is  always 
a  good  deal  of  jealousy  of  strangers  arriving  upon 
the  scene,  and  I  daresay  some  of  the  ministers 
who  are  only  lukewarm  would  rather  I  had  kept 

myself  to  myself.     Moody  had ,  the  evangelist 

from ,  to  help  in  the  general  work,  and  there 

was  such  a  row  about  it  that  he  had  to  send  him 
away  in  three  days !  However,  I  am  in  better 
odour  and  will  not  get  the  sack  whatever  happens.' 

'MANCHESTER,  Dec.  31,  1874. 

'  A  Happy  New  Year  —  my  first  from  home.  It  seems 
strange  to  be  absent  at  this  time,  and  I  am  sure 
to  have  a  fit  of  melancholies  before  to-morrow 
finishes.  .  .  .  There  was  a  great  scene  at  the 
station,  all  the  bigwigs  in  Manchester  down  to 
see  Moody  off.  I  shall  have  to  hold  the  fort 
here  for  some  time  yet.  The  prospects  of  work 
are  not  very  cheering,  and  unless  they  get  better 
in  a  week,  I  shall  strike  my  tent  and  march  for 
headquarters  at  Sheffield.  .  .  .  The  cold  has  been 
intense.  There  has  been  so  much  ice  that  we  have 
got  tired  of  skating ;  and  now  there  is  not  much 
time  for  it.' 

'MANCHESTER,  Wednesday,  Jan.  6,  1875. 

'I  never  met  a  finer  set  of  men — the  best  Com- 
mittee by  far  Moody  ever  had.  .  .  .  My  work 
here  has  been  a  little  up-hill.  The  young  men 
have  never  been  touched  by  Moody,  and  the 
Y.M.C.A.  has  its  hands  full  of  district  work 
elsewhere  and  cannot  work  with  us.  I  have  had 
to  develop  a  new  set  of  workers,  and  beat  up  a 


JET.  23]  THE  GREAT  MISSION  85 

new  meeting.  I  am  glad  to  say,  the  work  is 
steadily  growing  every  night  and  I  think  it  will 
be  a  centre  of  real  good  immediately.  However, 
it  will  no  sooner  be  up  to  working  power,  than 
I  shall  have  to  leave  for  Sheffield.  ...  I  was 
offered  a  church  (here)  the  other  day — a  splendid 
new  Presbyterian  church !  I  need  not  say  that  I 
have  declined  with  thanks.' 

<  SHEFFIELD,  Friday,  January  8th. 

'You  will  perceive  from  my  changed  address  that 
I  am  once  more  "  stalking  through  the  land  "  as 
Daniel's  band  says.  A  telegram  most  unexpected 
yesterday,  at  noon,  from  Moody  brought  me  off  in  a 
great  hurry-scurry  to  Sheffield.  I  could  not  help 
it.  "  Come  to  Sheffield  at  three  to-day.  I  have  a 
great  men's  meeting  for  you  to-night,"  so  the 
message  ran,  and  of  course  I  had  just  to  leave 
all  and  run  too.  I  suppose  it  was  for  the  best, 
though  I  was  real  sorry  to  leave  my  little  Man- 
chester meeting,  which  hard  labour  had  worked 
up  after  much  discouragement  to  a  really  good 
work.  It  has  been  growing  in  interest  and  power 
every  night  and  was  coming  to  be  a  great  success 
at  last.  However,  I  daresay  I  may  be  back  to  it 
for  a  day  or  two  next  week.  Of  course,  it  is  a 
much  smaller  thing  than  the  work  here.  On 
Wednesday  night  I  suppose  my  audience  would 
count  about  three  hundred,  while  last  night  in 
Sheffield  it  was  about  as  many  thousands.  I  have 
rarely  seen  a  better  men's  meeting,  and  to-night  I 
have  another  just  the  same.  Moody  has  gone  to 
Manchester  to-day  to  return  to-morrow.  I  think 
the  work  here  is  going  to  be  splendid.  All  classes 
are  moved,  from  the  Mayor  to  the  beggar.' 


86  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1875 

'SHEFFIELD,  January  i2th. 

'  Reginald  Radcliffe  came  last  night  to  help  me  with 
the  men's  meeting.  His  method  was  as  peculiar, 
as  it  was  successful.  We  went  to  the  hall  where 
Moody  was  preaching,  sang  a  hymn  with  the 
crowd  who  could  not  get  in,  and  then  in- 
vited them  to  adjourn  from  the  street  to  the 
Young  Men's  Hall.  By  eight  o'clock  we  had 
five  or  six  hundred  of  an  audience,  mostly  men. 
When  Radcliffe  began  he  asked  the  Christians  to 
stand  up  while  he  addressed  them.  About  half 
the  audience  rose,  and  he  gave  them  a  most 
earnest  charge  on  the  subject  of  personal  holi- 
ness for  about  ten  minutes.  He  pleaded  with 
them  to  aim  at  more  entire  consecration  and  to 
examine  themselves  to  see  what  hindered  them 
from  being  filled  with  the  Spirit.  The  effect 
upon  the  unconverted  who  remained  sitting  was 
wonderful.  Then  instead  of  asking  the  anxious 
to  retire  to  the  hall  below,  as  is  usually  done, 
Radcliffe  asked  all  the  Christians  to  meet  him 
there  for  prayer  for  more  holiness.  I  gave  out 
a  hymn,  while  he  and  his  party  withdrew,  and  in 
a  few  minutes  was  left  alone  with  an  audience  of 
two  or  three  hundred  unconverted  people.  Many 
of  them  must  have  been  under  deep  conviction. 
I  addressed  them  for  fifteen  minutes,  and  then 
made  a  dedicatory  prayer.  A  minister  followed 
in  prayer,  and  then  I  asked  all  who  had  decided 
for  Christ  to  rise  and  leave.  Somewhere  about 
fifty  were  left  behind,  and  we  then  turned  the 
meeting  into  an  inquiry  meeting  and  spoke 
personally  to  each  of  them.  I  had  about  a 
dozen  men  in  a  corner  and  one  after  another 
came  to  the  light.  All  over  the  hall  the  same 


.  23]  THE  GREAT  MISSION  87 

thing  was  going  on,  and  the  result,  so  far  as 
the  unconverted  were  concerned,  was  one  of  the 
best  inquiry  meetings  we  have  ever  had,  and  so 
far  as  the  Christians  were  concerned,  one  of  the 
most  delightful  and  memorable  prayer  meetings 
of  their  lives.' 

'QUEEN'S  HOTEL,  BIRMINGHAM,  Friday,  Jan.  29,  1875. 

'A  telegram  this  morning  from  Moody  sent  me  off 
here  post-haste.  I  have  just  tea'd  with  him  and 
had  a  long  talk  over  things.  The  work  here  has 
been  far  greater  than  anywhere  else  —  far,  far 
greater.  Of  course  I  do  not  know  very  much 
about  it  yet.  I  was  quite  prepared  to  leave  this 
morning,  as  I  knew  Moody 's  ways  and  I  knew  I 
must  be  in  Birmingham  before  he  left  it,  and  that 
is  to-morrow  morning.  As  usual  I  was  sorry  to 
leave  the  last  place,  as  the  work  had  got  into 
splendid  trim.  The  young  men  put  out  the  bill 
which  I  enclose,  without  my  knowledge,  and  our 
meeting  was  crowded  till  there  was  not  standing 
room  and  about  fifty  inquirers  at  the  close.  .  .  . 
Moody  is  not  at  all  the  worse  for  this  great  work 
here,  speaking  to  fifteen  thousand  people  every 
night.  These  figures  are  not  exaggerated.  He 
is  very  careful,  and  he  says  so  himself. 
Tell  J.  I  was  all  over  Rogers  the  cutler's  ware- 
house to-day  in  Sheffield.  It  is  a  magnificent 
business.  I  saw  one  knife  with  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  seventy-five  blades  —  quite 
true.  It  is  a  great  curiosity.  They  add  a  blade 
every  year.  Yesterday  I  saw  electroplating,  so 
you  see  I  am  picking  up  information ! ' 


88  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1875 

<  BIRMINGHAM,  February,  1875. 

'  Once  more  I  am  on  the  eve  of  a  flitting.  When 
you  get  this  I  shall  either  be  in  Liverpool  or  on 
the  road  to  it.  A  telegram  in  the  usual  style  from 
Moody  settled  the  arrangement  last  night.  My 
work  here  has  not  been  so  great  as  I  should  have 
liked,  but  still  I  think  a  little  real  honest  work 
has  been  done.  And  I  have  great  hopes  of  a 
meeting  last  night  with  some  of  the  leading 
young  men  of  the  town  resulting  in  permanent 
work  among  young  men.  ...  I  am  almost  sorry 
to  leave  this,  as  I  have  fallen  into  the  houses  of 
such  very  nice  people ;  but  of  course  that  is  not 
my  business,  so  I  must  be  off.  I  have  lived  so 
much  at  hotels  lately  that  it  is  quite  a  pleasure 
to  catch  a  glimpse  of  home  life  again.' 

'CoMPTON  HOTEL,  LIVERPOOL,  Monday,  Feb.  15,  1875. 

' "  Liverpool."  Well,  the  programme  is  running  out, 
you  see,  town  by  town.  This  is  the  last  of  the 
provinces  now ;  and  in  another  month  we  shall  be 
on  the  big  campaign.  I  came  here  on  Saturday 
afternoon,  and  after  dinner  at  the  hotel  was  car- 
ried off  by  one  of  the  Committee  on  an  explora- 
tion expedition  thro'  the  theatres,  music  halls, 
concert  rooms,  and  public  buildings  generally 
to  pick  one  out  for  our  meeting.  I  think  the 
prospects  are  very  good.  Yesterday  was  a  great 
day  here.  Moody 's  four  services  were  splendid  — 
hundreds  of  inquirers.  In  the  evening  I  had  a 
theatre  full  of  "  overflows  "  to  look  after.  This 
morning  there  was  a  monster  breakfast  of  gentle- 
men interested  in  the  movement,  which  went  off 
very  well.  I  have  fallen  quite  among  friends 
here  —  Stewart,  who  worked  with  me  in  Sunder- 


/ET.  23]  THE  GREAT  MISSION  89 

land,  and  two  college  classmates,  Eraser  from 
Alloa  and  M'Leod  have  churches  near  here.  I 
quite  enjoyed  meeting  them,  as  they  are  about  the 
only  "  kent  faces  "  I  have  seen  for  some  time.  .  .  . 
I  got  a  treat  last  night.  Moody  sat  up  alone  with 
me  till  near  i  o'clock  telling  me  the  story  of  his 
life.  He  told  me  the  whole  thing.  A  reporter 
might  have  made  his  fortune  out  of  it ! ' 

The  mission  of  Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey  to  Liver- 
pool produced  greater  results  than  they  had  achieved 
in  any  other  town.  On  the  last  day  of  their  visit  a 
meeting  was  held  for  anxious  inquirers  who  were 
admitted  by  ticket. 

'  Not  less  than  five  thousand  presented  tickets.  Mr. 
Moody's  address  was  directed  to  the  clearing  away  of 
doubts  and  difficulties,  and  at  its  close  he  called  upon  all 
who  were  willing  to  trust  themselves  to  Christ  there  and 
then  to  rise  to  their  feet.  With  much  manifest  emotion  a 
vast  multitude  of  persons,  quite  two-thirds  of  all  who  were 
present,  stood  up.  This  was  followed  by  an  after  meeting, 
when  some  four  hundred  or  five  hundred  awakened  souls 
were  conversed  with  personally.'  Another  witness  says  of 
this  meeting :  '  It  was  a  time  of  solemn  surrender :  no 
startling  appeals  had  been  listened  to ;  the  noonday  sun,  and 
not  the  glare  of  gaslight,  shone  into  the  building ;  there  was 
nothing  to  excite  any  one;  yet  the  close-pressed  phalanx  of 
city  merchants  and  ministers  on  the  platform  had  a  struggle 
to  repress  emotion.'  'An  equal  number  remained  after  the 
women's  meeting  in  the  afternoon,  but  perhaps  the  most 
remarkable  meeting  was  that  of  the  men  in  the  evening. 
The  great  hall  was  crammed  with  some  twelve  hundred. 
Mr.  Moody  delivered  the  same  sermon  as  to  the  women  in 
the  afternoon.  It  is  a  fact  worthy  of  notice  that  a  very  much 
larger  number  of  men  seemed  to  be  impressed  than  of  women 
in  the  afternoon.  In  the  afternoon  three  hymns  had  to  be 
sung  after  the  address,  and  repeated  invitations  given,  before 


9O  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1875 

the  inquiry  room  was  filled  with  women,  whereas  in  the  even- 
ing no  sooner  was  the  address  finished  than  the  same  room 
was  crowded  with  men  before  the  first  hymn  was  ended, 
while  hundreds  more  remained  to  seek  and  to  find  in  the 
large  hall.' 

Drummond's  meetings  with  young  men  in  the  Cir- 
cus are  said  to  have  been  '  as  much  owned  as  Mr. 
Moody's  were.'  For  weeks  he  had  ten  or  twelve 
hundred  every  night.  I  can  find  only  two  of  his  own 
letters  about  them,  written  after  Moody  left  for  Lon- 
don. 

'CoMPTON  HOTEL,  LIVERPOOL,  March  19,  1875. 

' .  .  .  Must  still  hold  the  fort  here  for  a  little.  We 
are  getting  up  deputations  all  over  the  country. 
Last  night  I  was  at  a  place  fifteen  miles  off  by  sea 
starting  a  young  men's  meeting,  and  I  go  back 
there  to-night  and  to-morrow.  To-night  I  shall 
hurry  the  meeting  and  take  cab  and  ferry  back  to 
Liverpool  to  my  own  meeting  in  the  Circus  at 
nine,  and  the  same  to-morrow.  .  .  .  The  people 
here  are  very  kind:  I  have  got  to  know  nearly 
the  whole  religious  public,  and  could  be  out  to 
breakfast,  dinner,  or  tea  every  day,  but  I  decline 
all  invitations.  .  .  .  This  is  the  great  race  week 
in  Liverpool,  and  the  town  is  swarming  with  all 
manner  of  blackguards.  [He  had  his  pockets 
picked  by  one.]  .  .  .  Moody  is  much  encouraged 
by  London.  To  tell  the  truth,  I  am  in  no  hurry 
to  get  there.  I  daresay  I  shall  have  had  enough 
of  it  before  the  four  months  are  out.' 

'  LIVERPOOL  [undated,  about  the  8th  April] . 

'  My  last  week  in  Liverpool.  Moody  was  here 
again  and  almost  insisted  upon  my  going  with 
him  on  Monday  last,  but  the  committee  here 


JET.  23]  THE  GREAT  MISSION  9 1 

begged  for  another  week,  and  I  do  not  regret  hav- 
ing stayed  on.  We  have  had  some  real  good  work. 
*  We  have  still  wonderful  work  here.  I  have  a  the- 
atre full  of  young  men  to  "  farewell  address  "  at 
three,  a  circus  full  of  working-men  at  four,  another 
theatre  full  of  men  and  women  at  seven  in  Birk- 
enhead,  and  the  usual  circus  full  of  young  men 
again  at  nine.  I  shall  never  forget  these  young 
men's  meetings  here.  You  have  no  idea  of  them. 
We  have  never  less  than  one  thousand  each 
night,  and  that  is  full  six  weeks  without  a  break. 
There  is  not  a  man  in  the  world  that  would  not 
envy  such  a  congregation.  One  can  do  a  year's 
work  in  a  month  in  times  like  these.  I  have  no 
doubt  but  that  we  shall  turn  out  a  number  of 
missionaries  from  among  the  young  men  here.' 

'  The  aspect  of  the  Circus,'  says  a  newspaper  correspond- 
ent, 'after  the  meeting  was  ended  and  many  gone  home,  was 
inexpressibly  touching.  There  two  men  in  fustian  jackets 
kneeling  in  prayer  together.  In  one  corner  a  dozen  men 
standing  round  an  energetic  speaker.  In  another  two  men 
are  anxiously  debating  what  seems  a  question  of  life  and 
death.  There  are  many  groups  throughout  the  hall  intent 
on  matters  of  serious  moment.  There  are  tears  flowing,  but 
hastily  wiped  away.  There  are  rough  lads  in  dress  and  man- 
ner, whose  looks  make  you  regard  them  with  a  brother's 
love  ;  and  ever  and  anon  the  speakers  and  the  spoken  kneel 
down  in  the  sawdust  or  on  the  boards  in  prayer,  and  then, 
with  a  wring  of  the  hand  and  gratified  look,  they  go  home.' 

The  London  Mission  was  begun  on  March  i4th  in 
the  Agricultural  Hall,  Islington,  which  was  seated  for 
thirteen  thousand  persons,  with  standing  room  for  a 
thousand  or  two  more.1  The  evening  meeting  for  men 

1  There  were  at  first  grave  exaggerations  of  the  number :  it  was  said  that  there 
were  twenty-four  thousand  seats  and  twenty-five  thousand  persons  present. 


92  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1875 

filled  it  to  its  utmost  capacity,  and  during  the  following 
week  the  gatherings  varied  from  four  to  fourteen  thou- 
sand. One  of  them  was  addressed  by  Dr.  R.  W.  Dale, 
who  afterwards  published  the  very  impressive  account 
which  he  gave  of  the  work  in  Birmingham.  On  Sunday, 
the  2ist,  the  meetings  were  nearly  as  large  as  on  the 
preceding  Sunday.  The  noon  prayer-meeting  was 
held  in  Exeter  Hall.  The  Opera  House,  Haymarket, 
was  taken  for  West  End  meetings,  the  Victoria  Thea- 
tre in  the  Waterloo  Road  for  the  south  side,  and  a 
large  wooden  hall  was  built  in  the  far  east.  With 
scarcely  an  exception  the  daily  press  '  spoke  of  the 
work  in  terms  of  respect,  even  of  hopefulness ' ;  and 
the  interest  in  it  spread  to  all  classes  of  society. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  an  immense  proportion  of 
those  who  attended  the  monster  meetings  were  already 
church  members,  and  in  so  vast  a  population  as  Lon- 
don, even  so  strong  a  movement  could  touch  only  the 
fringes  of  the  careless  and  the  vicious  masses.  Yet  even 
these  fringes  amounted  to  much.  There  were  as  many 
as  two  hundred  anxious  inquirers  every  night  at  the 
Agricultural  Hall ;  many  more  whose  hearts  had  been 
touched  went  away  without  confessing  it ;  while  nearly 
every  one  of  the  tens  of  thousands  of  Christians  who 
heard  the  evangelists  was  quickened  and  stimulated. 
The  work  spread  rapidly.  In  a  leading  artiqle,  the 
Times  of  Good  Friday  declared  that  it  was  falling  off. 
On  that  evening,  on  Easter  Sunday,  and  all  the  follow- 
ing week  the  meetings  were  larger  than  ever. 

Drummond  came  up  to  London  about  the  close  of 
the  first  week  in  April. 


Mi.  23]  THE  GREAT   MISSION  93 

To  John  F.  Ewing 

'FRIDAY,  April  23,  1875. 

*  If  you  knew  how  I  am  torn  to  pieces  with  work, 
you  would  not  abuse  me.  You  are  a  good  fellow 
to  write,  and  you  deserve  to  be  encouraged.  I 
like  to  hear  from  young  ministers !  The  last 
I  heard  of  you  was  that  you  were  doing  u  a  most 
plucky  thing."  I  am  thoroughly  glad  of  the  line 
you  have  gone  into.1  When  I  become  a  young 
minister  it  is  exactly  what  I  shall  do. 

'  I  wish  I  had  time  to  tell  you  of  myself.  The 
Liverpool  work  was  very  grand.  London  has 
been  a  fair  success  only,  I  mean  after  Liverpool. 
Many  things  were  against  work  among  the  young 
men,  but  still  we  have  had  a  very  real  work.  I 
leave  the  N.  meeting  to  take  care  of  itself  after 
this  week,  and  go  "  away  down  east,"  as  Moody 
would  say.  There  we  have  pitched  a  tent  to 
hold  a  thousand  young  men,  which  we  expect 
to  have  crammed  every  night.  After  setting  that 
a-going,  I  think  the  next  move  will  be  to  the 
Haymarket  Opera  House,  where  I  expect  Stalker 
and  you  will  make  your  first  appearance  in  a 
London  theatre,  and  I  shall  announce  you  before- 
hand as  two  swells  from  the  provinces  !  Pardon 
me  for  being  in  such  a  serious  vein.  I  have  been 
writing  Moody 's  sermons  all  day ;  you  know  they 
are  being  published  under  my  most  distinguished 
editorship.' 

'LONDON,  Saturday,  April  24th. 

'A  sudden  turn  in  the  state  of  affairs  yesterday  has 
banished  me  to  the  South  of  London,  and  I  fear 

1  Ewing  had  undertaken  the  formation  of  a  new  congregation  in  a  working- 
class  district  of  Dundee. 


94  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1875 

it  will  be  impossible  for  me  to  come  to  the  station 
on  Tuesday,  but  I  shall  meet  you  at  the  Noon 
meeting  at  the  Opera  House.  The  reason  of  my 
going  to  the  S.  is  because  Stalker  and  you  are 
coming.  Moody,  the  moment  he  heard  of  it,  put 
you  both  down  for  work  there,  and  "  the  young 
men  from  Edinburgh  "  are  to  have  full  swing  of 
the  Victoria  Theatre  for  the  whole  week.  [He 
reports  on  the  arrival  of  others.]  I  am  divided 
equally  between  revival  and  arrival  work.' 

To  His  Father 

'CANNON  STREET  HOTEL,  LONDON,  May  n,  1875. 

'  Everything  is  bright  outside  and  inside,  and  I  only 
wish  you  were  here  to  share  in  the  enjoyment. 
How  would  you  like  to  see  an  acre  of  people? 
That  is  exactly  the  size  of  the  audience  to  which 
Mr.  Moody  preaches  every  night  in  the  East  of 
London.  Here  is  Moody 's  programme:  Drive 
three  miles  to  Noon  meeting ;  lunch ;  Bible  read- 
ing at  3.30  followed  by  inquiry  meeting  till  at 
least  5  ;  then  preaching  in  the  Opera  House 
at  6.30;  then  very  short  inquiry  meeting;  then 
drive  five  miles  to  East  End  to  preach  to  twelve 
thousand  at  8.30;  then  inquiry  meeting;  then 
drive  five  or  six  miles  home.  This  is  every  day 
this  week  and  next — a  terrible  strain,  which, 
however,  he  never  seems  to  feel  for  a  moment. 
The  work  is  coming  out  grandly  now,  and  I 
think  the  next  two  months  will  witness  wonderful 
results.  It  is  deepening  on  every  side,  and  even 
"  London  "  is  beginning  to  be  moved.  Moody 
says  Sunday  was  the  best  day  of  his  life.' 


/Ex.  23]  THE  GREAT  MISSION  95 

'CANNON  STREET  HOTEL,  May  14,  1875. 

'Your  huge  remittance  came  to  me  all  right  this 
morning  via  James.  I  shall  ride  once  more  upon 
a  'bus,  and  pay  my  way  like  a  man  and  a  Drum- 
mond.1 

'  I  expect  to  leave  this  on  Wednesday  night  after 
the  meetings  are  over  by  the  night  mail,  and  as  I 
am  so  flush  I  should  not  wonder  if  Mr.  Pullman 
Sleeping  Car  should  have  the  honour  of  conveying 
me  and  my  co-worker,  Captain  Moreton,  R.N.' 

He  goes  to  a  great  convention  in  Liverpool,  and 
looks  forward  to  another  at  Brighton,  though  he  does 
'  not  at  all  approve  of  views  held  by  some  of  the  lead- 
ing supporters.'  '  We  had  a  splendid  young  men's 
meeting  last  night  in  London,  the  best  we  have  had 
there.  It  is  growing  every  night.  Moody  takes  it 
to-morrow,  and  I  shall  be  back  for  Saturday.' 

To  His  Mother 

1  LONDON,  May  27,  1875. 

'Your  flowers  made  me  just  a  little  homesick,  they 
had  such  a  country  air  about  them.  I  declare  I 
had  almost  forgotten  there  were  such  things  as 
daisies.  However,  at  latest  next  week,  I  shall 
renew  my  acquaintance  with  fresh  air.  The 
greatest  event  in  my  programme  this  week  was 
a  large  children's  meeting  in  the  Opera  House. 
I  am  to  have  another  on  Saturday  along  with  Mr. 
Sankey,  and  expect  a  great  hubbub!' 

1  Drummond  appears  to  have  refused  during  this  mission  all  remuneration  and 
only  sometimes  to  have  taken  all  his  expenses. 


96  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1875 

'HAYMARKET  OPERA   HOUSE,   May  (?). 

'A  large  number  of  inquirers  are  just  waiting  from 
the  afternoon  Bible  reading,  and  I  must  give  my 
afternoon  to  them.' 

To  His  Father 

'CANNON  STREET  HOTEL,  June  23,  1875. 

'The  1 2th  of  July  is  Moody 's  last  day,  I  think. 
He  goes  for  a  short  tour  after  that,  and  his  berth 
is  taken  for  the  4th  of  August  by  the  National 
liner  Spain.  The  Eton  affair  makes  much  noise, 
but  will  do  great  good,  Moody  thinks,  in  making 
the  higher  circles  show  their  colours  on  the  gen- 
eral question.  He  expects  his  friends,  who  are 
very  influential,  will  come  out  and  show  who  they 
are.  The  actual  meeting  at  Eton  was  a  great 
success.  Never  believe  a  word  the  papers  say 
about  the  work.  They  are,  almost  without  ex- 
ception, always  wrong.  ...  I  am  to  have  the 
privilege  of  joining  Moody  (and  three  others)  in 
a  series  of  Bible  studies  every  morning  for  full 
two  hours.  You  must  know  how  much  I  stand 
in  need  of  teaching,  with  so  much  preoccupation 
and  so  much  attempt  to  teach  others.  You  will 
approve  this,  for  I  think  you  must  have  been 
frightened  for  me  sometimes.' 

In  July  he  went  to  start  a  mission  at  Epsom. 

'  CANNON  STREET  HOTEL,  July  9. 

*  I  had  a  grand  meeting  on  Monday  night  at  9  P.M. 
The  district  is  terribly  dead,  so  we  had  at  first  a 
general  meeting  at  7.30,  and  then  the  men's  meet- 
ing [for  which  he  had  specially  gone]  at  9.  The 


JET.  23]  THE   GREAT   MISSION  97 

latter  was  crammed  away  out  into  the  street  with 
men,  many  of  them  jockeys  and  racing  men,  just 
the  kind  to  reach.  It  was  a  most  interesting  meet- 
ing, and  some  thirty  or  forty  remained  anxious. 
Next  night  there  were  one  hundred  in  the  inquiry 
room,  and  the  following  night  two  hundred.  I 
have  agreed  to  go  down  again  on  Saturday  night. 
It  is  a  magnificent  chance  for  work,  and  I  look 
forward  to  a  hundred  or  two  in  the  after  meeting. 
I  believe  I  am  to  have  the  honour  of  being  sent 
home  on  a  special  engine  after  the  meeting,  some 
of  the  gentlemen  who  are  getting  up  the  work 
having  an  interest  in  the  railway.  A  young  man 
who  has  been  recently  converted  stood  up  in  our 
meeting  the  night  before  last,  and  told  us  he  had 
gambled  away  half  a  fortune  before  his  conver- 
sion, and  kept  five  race  horses.  He  is  a  splendid 
young  fellow,  and  a  most  genuine  case.  He  has 
been  having  meetings  himself  near  his  own  house, 
and  has  done  a  great  deal  of  good. 
'  The  crowds  now  to  hear  Moody  are  terrific ;  the 
panic  of  the  papers  was  of  course  exaggerated.' 

Twenty-five  years  have  passed  since  the  American 
evangelists  began  their  mission  to  Great  Britain.  We 
have  seen  how  profoundly  the  churches  were  stirred, 
and  the  crowds  outside  the  churches ;  the  tens  of  thou- 
sands who  thronged  the  meetings ;  the  hundreds  upon 
hundreds  who  filled  each  inquiry  room,  professing 
penitence,  and,  in  the  great  majority  of  cases,  new 
faith  in  Jesus  Christ  and  experience  of  His  power  to 
make  them  better  men.  No  one  can  doubt  the  enor- 
mous power  of  the  movement  so  long  as  it  lasted. 
What  has  it  left  behind? 

Probably,  as  we  have  seen,  there  never  was  a  move- 


98  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1875 

ment  of  the  kind  in  which  religious  extravagance  and 
dissipation  were  more  honestly  discouraged.  In  the 
leaders  there  was  no  want  of  the  healthy  discrimina- 
tion and  genial  charity  without  which  our  religious 
zeal  so  fatally  develops  into  Pharisaism.  The  preach- 
ing was  Biblical  and  ethical.  The  doctrines  were  those 
of  Catholic  Christianity.  The  salvation  proclaimed 
was,  with  some  exceptions,  salvation  not  from  hell 
but  from  sin.  And  the  new  faith  and  energy  of  the 
converts  was  nearly  everywhere  guided  into  profitable 
forms  of  activity,  with  effects  upon  character  and  ser- 
vice that,  as  we  shall  presently  see,  have  endured  until 
to-day. 

To  form,  however,  a  just  appreciation  of  the  move- 
ment, we  must  recall  some  things  upon  the  other  side. 
We  must  remember  the  perils  to  which,  in  our  civil- 
isation, such  enormous  crowds  of  converts  were  im- 
mediately exposed.  While  revivals  rise  and  fall,  the 
influences  of  worldliness  and  of  vice  abide  among  us 
with  fresh  and  awful  persistency.  Many  of  the  con- 
verts, some  even  of  the  prominent  workers,  of  the 
great  Mission,  fell  to  that  hereditary  taint  of  drunk- 
enness which  infects  our  nation's  blood ;  others  not 
so  cursed  fell  as  low  before  our  careless  and  cruel 
drinking  customs,  although  not  all  of  these  were 
slain,  but  in  the  end  many  won  the  victory  to  which 
the  Mission  first  inspired  them.  We  must  remember, 
too,  that  so  vast  and  rapid  a  movement  was  bound  to 
suffer  the  defects  of  its  qualities.  Among  the  large 
numbers  who  were  certified  as  adhering  to  the  Mission, 
there  was  a  proportion  of  the  comfortable  middle  class, 
who  spent  their  leisure  in  running  from  meeting  to 
meeting,  and  who,  from  that  day  to  this,  act  as  if  they 
believed  that  such  conventions  were  at  once  the  high- 
est duty  and  happiest  privilege  of  religion.  Their 


JET.  23]  THE  GREAT  MISSION  99 

excitement  and  the  habits  which  it  has  formed  have 
not  been  beneficial  to  Christianity.  Further,  we  cannot 
help  observing  that  the  idealism  of  the  movement,  the 
emphasis  which  it  laid  on  general  principles,  and  the 
speed  with  which  multitudes  were  roused  to  the  con- 
viction of  these,  conspired  with  the  general  excitement 
to  destroy,  in  a  certain  class  of  minds,  all  sense  for  facts, 
and  to  corrupt  their  conscience  for  accuracy.  This 
is,  perhaps,  natural  to  every  idealist  movement,  —  one 
marks  it  in  certain  philosophies  of  the  century,  —  but 
it  appears  to  be  the  besetting  temptation  of  a  zealous 
and  sanguine  evangelicalism.  It  was  curiously  real- 
ised in  the  frequent  exaggeration  of  the  numbers  re- 
ported to  have  attended  the  various  meetings.  But 
some  of  the  forms  which  it  assumed  were  more  serious. 
One  was  a  temptation  to  ignore  all  religious  expe- 
rience which  lay  outside  the  definite  theology  of  the 
movement,  and  a  stubborn  refusal  to  recognise  the 
manifest  fruits  of  God's  Spirit  apart  from  the  formulas 
and  processes  by  which  its  converts  had  arrived  at  the 
truth.  And  another  form  of  this  vice  was  the  unwill- 
ingness to  see  in  Scripture  any  facts  save  such  as 
might  be  used  to  confirm  a  very  narrow  theory  of  in- 
spiration, nor  any  teaching  save  the  few  lines  of  evan- 
gelical doctrine  and  special  providence  upon  which  the 
preaching  of  the  movement  mainly  ran.  Mr.  Moody 
himself  was  free  from  all  these  defects  —  except  that 
of  a  narrow  and  unscriptural  theory  of  inspiration. 
But  during  the  last  twenty-five  years  they  have  all 
developed  in  the  circles  whose  religious  life  God  used 
him  to  quicken  so  powerfully ;  and  much  of  evangel- 
icalism, both  in  its  preaching  and  in  its  journalism, 
has  been  beset  by  narrowness,  inaccuracy,  and  the  fear 
to  acknowledge  some  of  the  healthiest  and  divinest 
movements  of  our  time. 


IOO  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1874-75 

But  while  all  these  defects  have  to  be  noted,  how 
much  falls  to  the  bright  side  of  the  reckoning!  Every 
one  who  shared  in  the  movement  or  who  has  read  its 
history  will  admit  without  question  those  beneficial 
effects  which  we  have  already  noted,  upon  the  mem- 
bership and  the  ministry  of  all  the  Churches.  This 
Mission  lifted  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  of 
persons  already  trained  in  religion  to  a  more  clear 
and  decided  consciousness  of  their  Christianity.  It 
baptized  crowds  in  the  Spirit  of  Jesus,  and  opened  the 
eyes  of  innumerable  men  and  women  to  the  reality  of 
the  great  facts  of  repentance  and  conversion,  to  the 
possibility  of  self-control  and  of  peace  by  God's  Spirit. 
We  have  admired  the  organisation  of  its  converts. 
The  young  men  who  came  under  its  influence  are 
now  in  middle  life,  and  to-day  one  can  point  to  min- 
isters in  many  churches,  and  to  laymen  in  charge 
of  the  municipal  and  social  interests  of  almost  every 
town,  who  were  first  roused  to  faith  and  first  enlisted 
in  the  cause  of  God  and  of  their  fellow-men  by  the 
evangelists  of  1873-75.  The  Spirit  of  our  God  works 
among  us  in  many  other  ways  than  by  *  revivals' 
and  church  services,  and  the  evangelical  movement 
which  Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey  did  so  much  to 
reinforce  has  required  every  iota  of  the  influence  of 
science  to  teach  it  tolerance,  accuracy,  and  fearless- 
ness of  facts,  and  all  the  strength  of  the  Socialist  move- 
ment to  rewaken  within  it  that  sense  of  civic  and 
economic  duty  by  which  the  older  evangelicalism  of 
Wilberforce,  Chalmers,  and  Shaftesbury  was  so  nobly 
distinguished.  Among  the  men  who  have  seen  this, 
and  who  have  not  only  preserved  their  faith  amid  the 
new  distractions  of  our  time,  but  to  their  faith  have 
added  knowledge  and  patience,  and  the  brotherly  love 
that  means  service  of  the  commonweal,  have  been 


JET.  23]  THE  GREAT   MISSION  IOI 

many — very  many — converts  of  the  two  American 
evangelists,  whom  God  in  His  grace  sent  to  our 
shores  twenty-five  years  ago. 

We  shall  see  in  the  rest  of  this  biography  how 
Henry  Drummond  contributed  to  this  wider  evangeli- 
calism of  our  day;  meantime  let  us  understand  how  he 
helped  the  movement  which  did  so  much  to  inspire 
it,  and  how  the  movement  helped  him. 

From  April,  1874,  to  July,  1875,  he  followed  up 
the  work  of  the  evangelists  in  the  cities  of  Ireland 
and  England,  and  he  laboured  by  their  side  in  London. 
His  letters  have  made  us  familiar  with  the  general 
character  of  his  work.  The  bulk  of  it  was  the  prepa- 
ration and  delivery  of  addresses,  and  as  he  sometimes 
spoke  every  night  for  weeks  in  the  same  hall  his 
material  began  to  grow  in  quantity.  During  this 
period  he  probably  composed  the  first  drafts  of  most 
of  the  discourses  for  which  in  later  years  he  became 
famous.  The  discourses  published  after  his  death  in 
the  volume  entitled  The  Ideal  Life  were  produced 
either  now  or  in  the  immediately  subsequent  years; 
so  also  his  great  address  on  '  Seek  ye  first  the  King- 
dom of  God.'  But  he  had  also  spoken  on  '  The  Great- 
est Thing  in  the  World,'  and  '  The  Changed  Life.' 
His  preaching,  therefore,  ranged  over  all  the  great 
doctrines  and  facts  of  Christianity:  Sin  and  Salva- 
tion, Penitence,  The  Atonement,  Regeneration,  Con- 
version, Sanctification,  The  Power  of  the  Spirit, 
Christ's  Teaching  about  Himself  and  about  a  Future 
Life  —  on  all  these,  in  contrast  to  the  smaller  list  of 
topics  to  which  he  limited  himself  in  later  years,  he 
preached  again  and  again  and  with  great  detail.  He 
stuck  close  to  the  Bible.  He  used  the  incidents  of 
the  Old  Testament  to  enforce  the  teaching  of  the 
New,  just  as  older  evangelists  did.  His  theology  was 


IO2  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [i8?4-75 

practically  that  of  the  leaders  of  the  movement,  and 
among  crowds  who  were  always  more  or  less  ready  to 
mark  the  slightest  deflection  from  orthodoxy  there 
appears  never  to  have  arisen  any  suspicion  of  a  dif- 
ference between  his  teaching  and  the  teaching  of  the 
authorities.  But  his  manner  of  presentation  was 
entirely  his  own,  and  in  speaking  to  young  men  he 
never  forgot  that  he  must  put  things  differently  from 
the  way  in  which  things  were  put  to  their  elders. 
He  acted  on  the  principle,  which  he  so  often  en- 
forced, that  'a  young  man's  religion  could  not  be 
the  same  as  his  grandmother's.'  His  style  of  speak- 
ing was  simple  and  clear;  he  kept  to  the  concrete,  and 
already  revealed  his  famous  powers  of  illustration  and 
analogy.  His  manner  was  quiet  and  self-possessed. 
He  had  the  opportunity,  so  invaluable  to  the  young 
preacher,  of  giving  the  same  addresses  again  and 
again,  so  that  he  could  sift  and  balance  them;  nor  did 
he  ever  yield  to  the  temptation,  which  such  an  oppor- 
tunity often  brings  with  it,  of  relaxing  his  preparation, 
but  this  was  always  hard  and  thorough.  '  One  thing 
has  impressed  me  more  than  anything  I  heard  at  the 
[Agricultural]  Hall,  and  that  is  the  quiet  yet  deep 
and  sincere  manner  in  which  he  always  prays  and 
speaks  at  the  Young 'Men's  Meeting.'  '  I  thank  God 
for  His  goodness  in  sending  you  to  tell  the  Gospel  of 
Christ  in  a  manner  so  simple  and  loving  that  many 
together  with  myself  were  brought  to  a  saving  know- 
ledge of  the  truth.'1  He  had  not  a  strong,  nor  in  any 
way  a  remarkable,  voice,  but  he  used  it  easily  in  the 
largest  meetings.  There  was  no  attempt  at  oratory, 
nor  any  sign  of  strain ;  and,  besides  the  absence  of  all 
ambition  after  personal  effect,  this  was  due  to  careful 
preparation  for  each  occasion  and  to  that  exquisite 

1  From  a  man,  a  member  of  the  Church  of  England. 


yEr.  23]  THE   GREAT   MISSION  1 03 

taste  which  the  last  few  years  of  discipline  in  reading 
and  in  writing  had  perfected.  He  grew,  too,  to  be 
very  expert  in  managing  meetings.  What  chances  he 
had !  Who  could  ever  again  fear  or  fail,  that  at  twenty- 
three  had  organised  the  meetings  he  had  to  organise 
or  had  faced  the  crowds  he  had  to  face  night  after 
night !  But  his  opportunities  would  have  been  noth- 
ing without  himself.  Not  experience  only  nor  cool- 
ness, but  quick  sympathy  which  does  not  always  go 
with  coolness,  rapid  appreciation  of  other  men's  gifts 
and  the  power  of  enlisting  them,  perfect  courtesy,  good 
humour,  and  a  strong  dramatic  interest,  made  him  an 
ideal  chairman.  There  was  the  tall  lithe  figure,  the 
keen  eyes,  the  unstrained  voice,  the  imperturbable, 
spirit,  the  purity  and  earnestness  which  were  behind 
all,  the  nameless  radiance  that  surrounded  him  as  of  a 
fresh  spring  morning — but  indeed  it  is  his  biogra- 
pher's despair  to  explain  to  those  who  never  felt  it  the 
equal  charm  and  force  which  came  out  from  him. 

In  higher  things,  too,  the  movement  must  have  re- 
fined the  character  we  found  so  perfect  in  after  years. 
Dr.  Stalker,  who  shared  so  much  of  the  work  among 
the  young  men,  has  written  the  following  notes,  which 
illustrate  both  this  and  the  other  features  of  which  we 
have  been  speaking  :  — 

'  Your  letter  has  made  me  recall  that  glorious  time ; 
but  I  find  that  while  I  remember  the  general  impres- 
sions most  distinctly,  I  have  not  a  very  precise  recol- 
lection of  details. 

'  Perhaps  the  impression  which  oftenest  recurs  to 
me  is  the  absolute  purity  of  motive  which  at  that  time 
possessed  us.  Though  suddenly  thrust  into  unusual 
prominence,  we  thought  of  nothing  whatever  but  the 
work  itself.  This  produced  a  curious  confidence,  in 
which  there  was  not  the  least  touch  of  self-conscious- 


IO4  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1874-75 

ness.  The  very  largest  meetings  were  in  no  wise 
formidable,  and  if  the  highest  in  the  land  had  been 
present,  we  should  only  have  been  glad  to  have  addi- 
tional hearers  for  the  message  of  salvation.  If  we  had 
little  of  the  humility  which  thinks  disparagingly  of 
self,  we  had  what  has  always  since  then  seemed  to  me 
the  better  humility  which  forgets  self  altogether.  In- 
deed, at  that  time,  we  had  many  experiences  which 
have  ever  since  made  Christ  intelligible;  and  the 
Book  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  especially  has  a 
meaning  to  those  who  have  passed  through  such  a 
movement  which  it  could  scarcely,  I  should  think, 
have  for  any  one  else. 

'  Henry  retained  this  humility  of  self-forgetfulness 
throughout  life ;  but  at  that  time,  when  he  was  only 
about  three-and-twenty  and  very  youthful  looking,  it 
must  have  been  curious  to  see  him  handling  meetings 
of  thousands  with  the  most  perfect  ease,  though  this 
did  not  occur  to  any  of  us  then.  I  was  with  him  con- 
ducting meetings  scores  of  times,  and  from  the  first 
he  had  the  most  perfect,  effortless  command  of  every 
audience  which  I  have  ever  seen  in  any  speaker.  It 
was  like  mesmerism ;  and  I  have  often  wondered 
whether  it  actually  had  any  connection  with  the  mes- 
meric powers  which  he  occasionally  exhibited  for  the 
amusement  of  his  friends.  His  speaking  was  never 
loud  nor  excited ;  there  was  never  any  straining 
after  profundity  or  picturesqueness  or  effect  of  any 
kind ;  but  every  person  in  the  audience  followed 
the  speaker  from  the  first  word  to  the  last  with- 
out wandering  for  a  moment.  He  never  spoke  of 
his  preparation,  as  other  speakers  do ;  and  to  this 
hour  I  am  not  quite  certain  whether  or  not  he  pre- 
pared elaborately,  but  I  should  think  he  did.  At  all 
events  I  know  that  his  books  were  written  with  the 


JEx.  23]  THE   GREAT  MISSION  1 05 

thoroughness  of  a  French  stylist.  I  have  heard  his 
young  disciples  trying,  in  evangelistic  addresses,  to  re- 
peat his  stories ;  and  then  one  realised  by  contrast  the 
perfection  of  his  way  of  telling  them.  He  was  not  at 
his  best  in  addressing  very  large  meetings,  but  in  an 
audience  not  exceeding  five  hundred  his  quiet  voice 
and  simple  manner  found  their  natural  range.' 

But  to  associate  Henry  Drummond  only  with  meet- 
ings and  addresses  would  be  to  misrepresent  him. 
Had  he  ever  been  carried  away  with  the  size  and 
success  of  these,  had  he  ever  been  tempted  to  swerve 
from  his  own  principle  that  the  individual  was  the 
aim  and  object  of  religion,  he  must  have  been  brought 
back  by  one  element  of  the  meetings  themselves.  At 
each  of  these  there  were  handed  up  to  the  chairman  a 
large  number  of  requests  for  prayer,  which  in  nine 
cases  out  of  ten  had  to  do  with  the  darkness  or  the 
tragedy  of  some  individual  life.  Carefully  preserved 
among  his  documents  are  some  scores  of  these  anony- 
mous scraps  of  paper,  shabby,  soiled,  and  often  mis- 
spelt, each  of  them  the  confession  of  a  fallen  soul,  or 
the  sob  of  a  broken  heart,  or  the  cry  for  warmth  of  a 
cold  and  a  starving  one.  From  vice  or  servitude  to 
some  besetting  sin,  from  long  doubt  and  vain  struggle 
to  the  light,  from  wrecked  and  dreary  homes,  or 
wasted  by  love  and  fear  that  had  battled  for  years 
over  the  characters  of  those  who  were  dearest  to 
them,  they  had  crept  to  the  meetings,  and  felt  the 
strength  of  the  faith  that  was  present,  and  cried  to  be 
lifted  upon  it  as  their  last  chance.  Drummond  sought 
out  many  of  these,  and  was  sought  by  many  more. 
He  worked  hard  in  the  inquiry  rooms,  but  shy  men, 
who  would  not  stand  up  in  a  meeting,  nor  enter  an 
inquiry  room,  waited  for  him  by  the  doors  as  he  came 
out,  or  waylaid  him  in  the  street,  or  wrote,  asking  him 


IO6  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1874-75 

for  an  interview.  He  took  great  trouble  with  every 
one  of  them,  as  much  trouble  and  interest  as  if  each 
was  a  large  meeting.  His  sympathy,  his  leisure  from 
himself,  his  strength,  won  their  confidence,  as  his  per- 
sonal charm  on  the  platform  had  first  stirred  their 
hope,  and  he  thus  became  acquainted  with  the  secrets 
of  hundreds  of  lives.  Men  felt  he  was  not  a  voice 
merely,  but  a  friend,  and  on  his  arm  they  were 
lifted  up.1  He  was  always  hopeful  about  the  most 
hopeless,  picked  out  some  good  points  in  the  worst, 
and  sent  a  man  away  feeling  that  he  was  trusted  once 
more,  not  only  by  this  friend,  but  by  Christ,  by  God. 
The  affection  which  such  treatment  aroused  was  ex- 
traordinary. I  have  seen  numbers  of  letters,  common- 
place enough  but  for  the  intense  love  and  gratitude 
which  they  breathe,  and  which  sometimes  approaches 
worship.  It  was  such  power  as  was  possessed  by 
some  of  the  greatest  of  the  mediaeval  saints  —  and 
he  was  not  twenty-four.  One  man  said  to  me  only 
the  other  day,  '  Since  Drummond  died  I  have  not 
been  able  to  help  praying  to  him.' 

He  had  a  great  love,  too,  for  all  odd  and  grotesque 
characters.  His  patience  with  bores  was  his  friends' 
wonder  to  the  end ;  but  he  dearly  liked  to  come  across 
the  unconventional,  the  Bohemian,  and  the  vagrant. 
Showmen  of  all  sorts  were  such  a  joy  to  him,  and  he 
got  on  so  well  with  them,  that  we  used  to  nickname 
him  Barnum.  A  Spanish  guitar-player,  a  laddie  who 
performed  on  the  penny  whistle,  music-hall  singers,  a 
cornet-player,  a  concertina-player  —  he  had  a  knack  of 
picking  them  out  and  giving  them  work  to  do  in  the 

1  Mr.  R.  R.  Simpson  sends  the  following :  'At  an  inquiry  meeting  in  the 
Assembly  Hall  I  spoke  to  a  bright-looking  young  man  and  found  that  he  had 
decided  for  Christ.  On  my  asking  him  what  led  him  to  decision,  the  striking 
answer  was,  "  It  was  the  way  Mr.  Drummond  laid  his  hand  on  my  shoulder  and 
looked  me  in  the  face  that  led  me  to  Christ." ' 


JET.  23]  THE  GREAT  MISSION  1 07 

meetings.  Nor  was  he  often  taken  in.  So  great  a 
movement  had,  of  course,  among  its  adherents  many  of 
sordid  and  worldly  motives :  some  contemptible,  some 
very  amusing.  One  good  lady,  who  had  never  spoken 
to  him,  wrote  that  she  is  'sure  he  is  her  friend,  wants 
to  introduce  him  to  her  eleven  children  and  nineteen 
grandchildren,  and  has  asked  them  all  to  a  one  o'clock 
dinner  to-morrow  to  meet  him : '  she  is  sure  he  will 
not  disappoint  her.  People  who  had  lost  heavily  by 
American  railways  passionately  urge  him  to  get  Moody 
and  Sankey  to  undertake  among  their  countrymen  a 
crusade  for  the  recovery  of  their  lost  investments.  Men 
and  women  of  the  idle  middle  class  and  busy  stock  ex- 
change brokers  send  him  verses  and  tracts  to  publish. 
There  were  countless  appeals  for  employment;  offers  of 
'  Christian  lodgings  '  for  young  men  ;  requests  for  ser- 
mons for  collections  from  clergymen  whose  churches 
were  in  debt ;  plaintive  notes  from  flute-players  to  know 
why  their  offers  to  give  solos  at  the  meetings  have  not 
been  attended  to ;  claims  to  be  reimbursed  for  losses 
caused  by  faithful  adherence  to  the  movement;  re- 
proaches from  speakers  and  other  workers  that  they 
have  never  had  one  word  of  praise  —  and  so  forth. 
One  of  the  kinds  of  appeal  that  gave  him  most  trouble 
was  that  from  well-intentioned  people  who  wanted  him 
to  speak  to  their  young  relatives  about  their  souls,  when 
these  young  relatives  had  no  wish  to  be  spoken  to.  On 
the  occasions  when  he  could  not  escape  such  conversa- 
tions, he  would  begin  thus :  '  I  suppose  you  know  this 
is  a  put-up  job,'  or  thus,  '  What  you  are  suffering  from 
is  too  much  religion,  isn't  it?'  His  insight  was  mar- 
vellous. In  one  of  the  London  after  meetings,  he  said 
to  a  girl,  '  You  must  give  up  reading  James's  Anxious 
Inquirer'  and  she  wondered  how  he  guessed  she  was 
reading  it.  A  fortnight  of  the  Testament  set  her 


IO8  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1874-75 

right.  When  he  helped  another,  she  said,  '  It's  not 
so  simple  as  that  in  James's  Anxious  Inquirer' l 

A  great  deal  of  the  work  was  very  painful.  He  once 
said, '  Such  tales  of  woe  I've  heard  in  Moody's  inquiry 
room  that  I've  felt  I  must  go  and  change  my  very 
clothes  after  the  contact.'  Thus  at  twenty-three  he  saw 
life  on  all  its  sides,  learned  the  secrets  of  countless  char- 
acters, and  was  trusted  and  hung  upon  by  thousands 
of  his  fellow-men. 

Yet  he  stepped  from  it  all  unspoiled,  and  the  next 
session  went  quietly  back  to  college. 

1  From  notes  by  Professor  Simpson. 


CHAPTER   V 

BACK  TO  COLLEGE 

HENRY  DRUMMOND  did  not  go  back  to  college  with- 
out a  struggle.  Invitations  to  conduct  missions  poured 
in  upon  him  from  all  quarters.  The  leaders  of  the 
work  pleaded  that  the  last  two  years  had  surely  proved 
his  calling  as  an  evangelist ;  and  on  his  part  he  shrank 
from  settling  down  as  the  minister  of  a  congrega- 
tion, with  two  sermons  to  prepare  every  week.  But 
his  parents  had  renewed  their  pressure  upon  him, 
and  in  letters,  which  he  has  kept,  his  wisest  friends 
warned  him  of  the  perils  of  the  wandering  evan- 
gelist's life,  the  faults  which  it  breeds  in  the  best 
of  characters,  and  the  hindrances  which  it  sets  to  con- 
scientious preparation  and  general  intellectual  growth. 
Between  these  opposite  influences  he  was  still  hesitat- 
ing, when  he  went,  in  August,  1875,  to  spend  a  holi- 
day with  his  friend  Robert  W.  Barbour,  at  Bonskeid, 
in  Perthshire.  Barbour  had  just  finished  a  brilliant 
course  at  Edinburgh  University, — nine  class  medals, 
the  prize  poem,  and  a  double  first  degree  in  Classics 
and  Philosophy, — but  had  found  time  with  it  all  for 
work  among  young  men  in  Moody  and  Sankey's  mis- 
sion. After  his  success  at  Edinburgh  —  we  who 
followed  him  there  believed  that  there  was  no  distinc- 
tion beyond  his  reach  —  and  with  his  political  oppor- 
tunities as  the  son  of  a  large  landowner,  Barbour  had 
been  urged  to  go  to  Oxford,  with  a  view  to  entering 
Parliament.  But  he  resolved  to  give  himself  to  the 

109 


IIO  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1875 

ministry  of  the  Free  Church,  and  was  now  intending 
to  enter  New  College  in  the  following  October. 
Drummond  and  he  discussed  their  future  at  some 
length,  and  his  mother,  Mrs.  George  Freeland  Bar- 
hour,  although  fully  aware  of  Drummond's  powers  as 
an  evangelist,  lent  her  influence  to  persuade  him  to 
complete  his  studies  for  the  regular  ministry.  Drum- 
mond described  the  result  in  a  statement  made  to 
Professor  Simpson  shortly  before  his  death  :  — 

'  For  a  year  and  a  half  after  Moody's  visit  (he  said) 
he  was  sure  that  he  had  found  his  vocation,  till 
one  Sunday  forenoon  on  the  steps  of  Bonskeid  he 
had  a  long  talk  with  Mrs.  George  Barbour,  who 
showed  him  how  the  evangelist's  career  was  apt 
to  be  a  failure  —  perhaps  a  few  years  of  enthusi- 
asm and  blessing,  then  carelessness,  no  study,  no 
spiritual  fruits;  too  often  a  sad  collapse.  That 
sent  him  back  to  his  last  year  at  college.' 

This  is  confirmed  by  the  following  letter  to  Robert 
Barbour.  The  'sore  leg,'  on  which  so  much  depended, 
was  a  sprained  ankle  from  a  stumble  over  a  stone  on 
the  slopes  between  Fincastle  and  Bonskeid. 

'GLEN  ELM  LODGE,  STIRLING,  Oct.  23,  1875. 

'  MY  DEAR  BARBOUR,  —  ...  Very  sorry  to  hear  you 
have  been  ill.  You  are  much  more  to  be  pitied 
than  I,  for  I  count  my  sore  leg  one  of  the  best 
things  that  ever  happened  to  me.  It  was  the 
very  thing  I  needed.  I  have  got  time  to  look  at 
all  sorts  of  things,  and  have  even  made  an  attempt 
to  write  a  first  sermon.  Altho'  the  first  sermon, 
it  was  not  the  first,  or  the  fiftieth,  attempt,  but 
only  differed  from  the  others  by  being,  if  any- 


/ET.  24]  BACK  TO  COLLEGE  III 

thing,  a  greater  failure.  I  suppose  I  shall  have 
to  do  penance  for  this  some  day,  but  I  don't 
understand  how  men  can  knock  together  two 
sermons  a  week  —  as  if  they  were  rabbit  hutches. 
'  My  main  object  in  writing  is  to  tell  you  that  I  have 
decided  to  go  to  Edinburgh  this  winter.  For  the 
last  fortnight  things  have  been  growing  clearer, 
and  my  mind  is  now  quite  made  up  to  go.  I 
hope  I  am  doing  the  right  thing.  My  horizon 
was  very  dark  when  I  was  at  Bonskeid,  but  I 
know  being  there  did  me  good.  Besides,  it  is  the 
pleasantest  recollection  I  have  of  this  autumn ;  so 
I  emphatically  demur  to  your  statement  that  it 
was  "  unfortunate."  ; 

A  year  later,  looking  back  to  the  same  accident,  he 
writes  again  to  Barbour: — 

'  I  should  rather  like  to  make  a  pilgrimage  to  that 
stone  at  Bonskeid.  Sometimes  I  think  I  owe 
more  to  it  than  I  know.  Perhaps  if  it  had  not 
been  for  that  stone  I  should  not  have  been  at 
college  this  winter.  "  That  stone ! "  I  wish  it 
had  been  anything  else  but  a  stone.  A  wheel- 
barrow would  almost  have  been  as  poetical.' 

How  strong  the  temptations  were  to  continue  as  an 
evangelist  may  be  felt  from  the  following  letter  which 
Drummond  received  after  he  had  begun  the  winter 
session,  but  which  was  only  one  of  many  similar 
appeals  that  reached  him  while  his  mind  was  still  un- 
certain. Mr.  Moody  had  begun  his  American  cam- 
paign at  Philadelphia  in  November. 


112  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1875-76 

Front  Mr,  Moody 

'  PHILADELPHIA,  Dec.  4, 1875. 

'  MY  DEAR  DRUMMOND,  —  The  work  among  young  men 
in  this  country  is  growing  splendidly.  I  am  glad  I  went  to 
England  to  learn  how  to  reach  young  men.  Could  you  come 
over  and  help  us  ?  We  want  you  much  and  will  see  that  all 
expenses  are  paid.  I  think  you  would  get  a  few  thousand 
souls  on  these  shores,  if  you  should  come.  I  miss  you  more 
than  I  can  tell.  You  do  not  know  how  much  I  want  you 
with  me.  Come  if  you  possibly  can.  .  .  .  Since  I  got  your 
letters  I  think  of  you  and  the  College.  May  God  bless  you, 
and  make  you  thrive  in  His  Kingdom,  is  my  prayer.  Yours 
with  a  heart  full  of  love,  <D  L  MooDY/ 

When  Drummond  came  back  to  college,  he  found 
his  contemporaries  gone  from  it,  his  juniors  already  in 
the  Fourth  Year,  which  he  entered,  and  a  fresh  set  of 
men  in  the  years  behind  them.  Some  of  the  latter, 
like  Richard  Cameron,  Frank  Gordon,  and  Robert 
Barbour  he  knew :  they  had  taken  part  in  the  great 
Mission ;  but  the  men  who  had  shared  with  him  the 
first  and  most  profound  experiences  of  it  were  already 
in  the  ministry ;  and,  while  the  College  as  a  whole  was 
still  under  its  glamour,  and  the  students  regarded  him- 
self with  respect  and  admiration,  their  religious  inter- 
ests were  far  from  being  identified  with  its  methods. 
Among  them  were  an  unusual  number  of  able  men. 
The  ablest  of  all  was  Peter  Thomson,  the  son  of  an 
Aberdeenshire  farm-grieve,  who  had  graduated  with 
first-class  honours  at  Aberdeen,  and  carried  all  before 
him  at  New  College.  He  was  now  President  of  the 
Theological  Society,  and  assistant  to  Professor  David- 
son. We  who  were  entering  the  First  Year  had  learned 
from  him  any  Hebrew  we  knew,  and  looked  up  to  him 
with  great  respect.  His  ability,  kindliness,  and  weight 


/Ex.  24]  BACK  TO   COLLEGE  113 

of  character  formed  the  chief  influence  of  that  session. 
Round  him,  in  his  own  year,  were  a  group  of  solid  and 
thoughtful  men,  —  among  them  George  Steven,  now 
of  Free  St.  Bernard's  Church  in  Edinburgh,  —  who 
set  the  life  of  the  College  upon  scholarly  but  strenu- 
ously religious  lines.  The  First  Year  contained  the 
phenomenal  number  of  five  men  with  first-class  hon- 
ours —  three  of  them  with  double  firsts.  There  was  a 
strong  intellectual  rivalry.  The  debates  in  the  Theo- 
logical Society  were  vigorous  and  extremely  interest- 
ing. Thomson,  who  had  already  studied  at  Leipzig, 
followed  up  Dr.  Davidson's  lectures,  and  brought  be- 
fore the  meetings  the  facts  which  recent  criticism  had 
laid  bare  in  the  Old  Testament.  But  the  chief  inter- 
est of  the  society  was  in  Dogmatic  Theology.  A  num- 
ber of  the  members  were  strong  in  philosophy ;  D.  M. 
Ross  was  assisting  Professor  Campbell  Fraser  at  the 
University,  and  Barbour  and  Sorley  had  just  come 
from  it  with  first-class  philosophical  honours.  Others 
had  been  at  German  universities,  and  those  who  had 
not  were  reading  Dr.  George  Matheson's  Introduction 
to  the  Study  of  German  Theology,  which  had  just  been 
published.  Thomson,  who  had  left  Aberdeen  with 
the  very  singular  conviction  that  in  Mill's  philosophy, 
as  interpreted  by  Bain,  he  was  furnished  with  a  de- 
fence for  the  Christian  faith,  had  found  this  fail  him, 
and  a  great  deal  of  his  faith  fail  with  it.1  After 
seeking  in  vain  for  another  philosophy  reconcil- 
able with  Christian  doctrine,  he  was  finding,  and 
leading  others  towards,  a  dogmatic  based  upon  the 
facts  of  religious  experience.  In  this  pursuit,  the  stu- 
dents were  helped  by  the  lectures  of  Dr.  Davidson, 
who  taught  them  Old  Testament  Theology,  not  as  the 

1  See  his  very  interesting  Memoirs,  entitled  A  Scotch  Student,  by  the  Rev. 
George  Steven,  M.A.     Edinburgh,  Macniven  and  Wallace,  2d  ed.,  1881. 


I  1 4  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1875-76 

dogmas  of  a  church,  but  as  the  living  experience  of  a 
great  people  and  its  greatest  individuals ;  by  the  lec- 
tures of  Dr.  Rainy  upon  Church  History,  with  their 
fascinating  presentation  of  the  personal  religion  of 
the  chief  doctors  of  the  Church ;  and  by  the  study  of 
Schleiermacher,  for  the  reading  of  whose  Der  Christ- 
liche  Glaube  a  small  club  was  formed.  In  the  same 
direction  we  found  of  value  Muller's  Doctrine  of  Sin, 
Rothe's  Dogma  tik,  with  its  priceless  paragraphs  upon 
the  religious  roots  of  each  dogma,  and  his  essays,  Zur 
Dogmatik.  The  effect  upon  the  debates  in  the  Theo- 
logical Society  was  that  all  the  best  men  argued  for 
truths  which  they  had  lived  upon,  or  had  seen  working 
in  the  lives  of  others;  it  can  be  imagined  how  much 
they  were  helped  in  this  by  their  experience  of  the 
Great  Revival  in  which  so  many  of  them  had  taken 
part.  The  practical  and  the  theoretical  thus  devel- 
oped in  close  cooperation,  with  inestimable  benefit  to 
both.  The  strong  intellectual  activities  of  the  College 
were  in  the  healthiest  possible  touch  with  real  life.  At 
the  same  time  the  College  was  full  of  happy  play,  and 
there  was  a  good  deal  of  joking.  Two  comic  papers 
were  started  by  the  Fourth  Year  and  by  the  First: 
The  Patagonian  Candle,  a  Missionary  Record,  and  The 
Soap  and  Towel,  a  parody  upon  Spurgeon's  famous 
title.  The  fun  of  these  was  more  furious  than  witty. 

Into  this  life  Drummond  slipped  from  his  great 
experiences  very  quietly.  We  younger  men,  who  had 
not  been  in  the  Moody  movement,  were  a  little  afraid 
of  him  and  of  the  chance  of  his  tackling  us  upon  our 
own  religious  life.  But  we  found  him  unaggressive, 
treating  us  as  equals,  willing  to  be  our  friend,  entering 
into  our  fun,  and  even  contributing  to  our  comic 
papers.  After  dinner  some  of  the  students  used  to 
gather  in  a  coffee-house  to  drink  coffee,  and  one  of 


jET.  24]  BACK  TO  COLLEGE  I  1 5 

my  earliest  visions  of  Drummond  was  as  he  stood  up 
with  the  rest  in  due  solemnity  to  chant  a  nonsense 
verse,  which  invariably  accompanied  this  function. 
Soon  our  feeling  of  his  friendliness  deepened  to  grati- 
tude for  his  power  of  doing  us  good.  It  was  a  power 
somewhat  difficult  to  define,  for  it  was  exercised 
almost  imperceptibly.  We  felt  that  he  was  interested 
in  us,  and  his  interest  being  without  officiousness 
won  our  confidence  and  made  us  frank  with  him. 
We  could  tell  him,  as  we  could  not  tell  others,  the 
worst  about  ourselves,  —  the  worst,  and  just  as  easily 
also,  the  best,  our  ideals  and  ambitions,  of  which 
men  are  often  as  ashamed  to  speak  as  they  are  about 
their  sins.  To  the  latter  he  was  never  indulgent,  or 
aught  but  faithful  with  those  who  confessed  to  him. 
But  in  every  man  he  saw  good,  which  the  man  himself 
had  either  forgotten  or  was  ignorant  of.  '  He  and 
Robert  Barbour,'  said  a  fellow-student,  *  were  the  only 
two  men  I  ever  knew  who  helped  you  to  feel  that  you 
were  stronger  and  your  work  better  than  you  had 
dared  to  believe.'  His  sunniness  brought  hope  with 
it  to  everybody  about  him ;  and  the  air  of  distinction 
which  he  carried  was  so  manifestly  an  air  of  purity, 
and  not  of  pride,  that  it  helped  you  to  keep  yourself 
separate  from  what  was  base  or  trivial. 

On  his  part  Drummond  laid  himself  out  to  learn 
from  the  new  men  among  whom  he  was  thrown;  and 
in  his  constant  humility  he  made  no  difference  be- 
tween those  who  were  older  and  those  who  were 
younger  than  himself.  For  philosophy  he  had  never 
any  gift,  and  he  often  chaffed  those  who  had.  But 
the  effort  of  the  leaders  of  the  College  to  find  a  dog- 
matic based  on  experience  enlisted  his  sympathy,  and 
I  think  it  was  this  year  that  he  mastered  Muller's 
great  work  on  Sin,  which  had  ever  afterwards  some 


Il6  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1875-76 

influence  on  his  thinking.  He  had  a  keen  sense  for 
facts ;  and  the  facts  of  Old  Testament  criticism,  of 
which  he  heard  from  Thomson  and  others,  made  a 
deep  impression  on  his  mind.  He  did  not  yet  throw 
off  the  narrow  theory  of  inspiration  upon  which  he 
had  worked  with  the  Bible,  but  all  he  learned  prepared 
him  for  further  influence  in  the  same  direction,  and 
engaged  his  sympathies  for  the  great  movement  which 
was  now  rising  in  Scotland  under  the  hands  of  Pro- 
fessor Robertson  Smith. 

Drummond  did  not  forget  the  duties  of  an  evange- 
list, nor  fail  to  infect  some  of  his  fellow-students  with 
an  enthusiasm  for  them.  During  the  winter  he  en- 
gaged the  '  Gaiety '  Music  Hall  in  Chambers  Street 
for  a  number  of  Sunday  evenings,  for  meetings  of  men. 
When  he  spoke  the  hall  was  full,  and  at  the  after- 
meetings  there  were  groups  of  inquirers.  But  he 
took  few  of  the  addresses  himself,  and  the  speaking 
was  mostly  by  other  students.  The  audience,  chiefly 
of  students  in  arts  and  medicine,  clerks  and  working- 
men,  must  often  have  been  puzzled,  for  one  address  was 
entirely  on  the  Kenotic  Theory  of  the  Humiliation  of 
our  Lord,  and  in  another,  Spinoza  was  quoted  three 
times.  One  would  like  to  know  how  Drummond 
dealt  with  the  criminals.  Possibly  he  intended  the 
mission  more  for  the  speakers  than  their  audience, 
for  his  criticism  of  them  was  unsparing. 

From  these  meetings  came  the  name  of  the  Gaiety 
Club.  It  was  founded  at  a  small  gathering  invited  by 
Provost  Swan  of  Kirkcaldy  to  his  country-house  near 
Cupar,  and  was  at  first  called,  after  this  house,  the 
'  Springfield  Club.'  Besides  Provost  Swan,  the  orig- 
inal members  were  James  Stalker,  then  minister  at 
Kirkcaldy,  James  Brown  of  Tillicoultry,  John  F. 
Ewing,  of  Dundee,  John  Watson  of  Logiealmond; 


yET.  24]  BACK  TO   COLLEGE  I  I'J 

and  from  New  College,  Drummond,  D.  M.  Ross, 
Frank  Gordon,  and  Robert  Barbour.  Alexander 
Skene,  now  of  St.  Kilda's,  Melbourne,  joined  them  a 
little  later,  the  present  writer  in  1883,  and  Dr.  Hugh 
Barbour  upon  his  brother's  death  in  1891.  An 
arrangement  was  made  to  meet  every  spring  from  a 
Monday  to  Saturday  at  some  country  inn ;  and  for 
twenty-two  years  these  annual  gatherings  have  been 
sustained  without  a  break.  Drummond  attended  every 
one  of  them  save  three.  At  first  some  of  the  evenings 
were  set  apart  for  criticism  of  each  other's  growth  up- 
wards or  downwards  during  the  year.  But  as  time 
went  on  this  grew  less  formal,  and  the  gathering 
became  simply  one  of  close  friends,  members  of  the 
same  church,  with  very  sacred  memories  of  work  and 
study  together  in  the  service  of  Christ,  and  with  com- 
mon interests  in  literature  and  religion.  Every  man 
discusses  with  the  rest  his  own  work  planned  or 
achieved,  and  I  do  not  think  that  there  can  be  any- 
where a  group  of  friends  who  have  more  constantly 
shared  each  other's  aspirations,  or  who  have  more 
benefited  by  each  other's  criticism.  If  one  could  be 
more  loyal  than  another  it  was  Drummond.  This 
was  the  innermost  circle  among  his  countless  friends ; 
and  for  our  part,  while  we  look  back  with  thankfulness 
to  the  three  lives  of  our  fellowship  that  are  now  com- 
pleted and  have  passed  to  God,  Ewing's,  Barbour's,  and 
Drummond's,  it  is  our  chief  pride  that  Drummond  was 
one  of  us. 

In  April,  1876,  Drummond  finished  his  four  years' 
course  of  Divinity,  and  passed  the  second  part  of  the 
exit  examination.1  The  ensuing  summer  he  spent 

1  In  Church  History  (Puritanism),  Systematic  Theology  (The  Person  of 
Christ  and  Doctrine  of  the  Church),  and  Biblical  Theology.  He  made  636 
marks  out  of  800. 


Il8  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1876 

partly  on  holiday  and  partly  in  short  courses  of  evan- 
gelistic work.  He  received  several  invitations  from 
ministers  to  become  their  assistant,  and  several  others 
to  preach  as  a  candidate  for  vacant  charges,  but  he 
declined  them  all,  and  though  in  the  ordinary  course 
he  should  have  taken  license  to  preach,  he  was  still  so 
uncertain  of  his  future  that  he  postponed  this  first 
step  towards  the  full  orders  of  the  Presbyterian 
ministry. 

The  following  letters  were  written  by  him  during 
the  summer  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  James  C.  Stuart,1  with 
whom  he  had  stayed  in  Manchester  for  six  weeks  in 
1874.  They  are  interesting  for  two  features,  which 
he  subsequently  dropped,  the  use  of  conventional 
religious  phrases,  and  the  underlining  of  portions  of 
the  sentences.  In  the  first,  he  tells  how  he  walked  from 
Grasmere  to  Keswick  and  chose  the  hotel  from  which 
he  writes  in  order  to  meet  a  party  of  Oxford  students. 
He  is  sorry  to  have  missed  a  good  Sabbath  at  Man- 
chester, but  has  '  found  a  mission  here.' 

'ATKINSON'S  LAKE  HOTEL,  KESWICK, 
Monday,  Aug.  7,  1876. 

'  I  had  some  wonderful  "  leading "  on  Saturday  — 
all  the  more  that  it  was  unexpected.  It  would 
take  too  long  to  tell,  but  I  had  two  distinct  and 
valuable  opportunities  of  talking  personally  and 
in  detail  about  the  "  unsearchable  riches."  The 
outline  of  the  first  case  is  something  like  this. 
I  started  in  the  morning  for  Ullswater,  missed  a 
seat  on  the  two  coaches,  walked  half-way,  was 
picked  up  by  a  private  party,  who  offered  me  a 
seat  beside  the  driver.  At  first  he  was  very  quiet, 
and  after  some  time  I  noticed  tears  in  his  eyes. 

1  Now  of  Grove  House,  Altrincham. 


Mf.  25]  BACK  TO  COLLEGE  I  1 9 

I  found  he  had  just  buried  his  wife.  He  was  in 
very  deep  distress.  He  was  a  good  respectable 
man,  a  teetotaler,  but  plainly  did  not  know  the 
truth.  I  did  not  tell  him  much  then,  but  I  got 
his  address  and  mean  to  write  him  to-night.  I 
hope  something  will  come  of  it ;  the  poor  fellow 
seemed  very  anxious.  Another  of  the  cases  was 
in  coming  down  Helvellyn.  I  went  to  Ullswater, 
dined,  and  started  for  Helvellyn  alone  about  two. 
It  was  a  lovely  afternoon  and  the  view  from  the 
top  was  marvellous.  In  coming  down  I  met  a 
young  fellow  who  was  in  great  anxiety  about  a 
companion  whom  he  had  lost  on  the  mountain. 
He  had  searched  everywhere,  night  was  coming 
on,  and  he  feared  his  friend  had  been  seized  with 
a  fit.  He  didn't  know  what  to  do,  but  the  ques- 
tion, "What  do  you  think  of  praying?"  led  to  a 
long  and  earnest  talk.  He  was  a  Swedenborgian, 
but  had  practically  no  religion.  ...  I  do  not 
know  that  any  positive  good  was  done ;  I  mean  I 
saw  no  immediate  effect ;  but  we  talked  the  whole 
matter  round  very  freely  and  plainly.  I  am  afraid 
these  details  will  be  uninteresting  on  paper,  and 
I  will  not  trouble  you  with  a  third.  For  my  own 
part,  I  felt  very  grateful  for  them. 

'  To-day  to  Grasmere  Chapel.  /  got  nothing.  It 
poured  all  afternoon.  I  read  Tersteegen. 

'  I  have  met  one  Moody  party  at  each  hotel.  I  am 
glad  to  see  the  Christian  world  goes  round  too. 

Religion  is  in  a  deplorable  state  in ;  I  quite 

felt  for  it.  I  should  have  given  something  for 
your  "  little  river."  The  big  sea  is  wonderfully 
shallow  sometimes.  I  suppose  that  is  when  we 
are  big  ourselves. 

'I  go  to   Newcastle  on   Wednesday.     Thanks  for 


I2O  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1876 

that  brave  text.     It  made  me  feel  quite  strong 
to-day.     I  do  not  forget  C.' 

'STIRLING,  Aug.  15,  1876. 

* ...  I  enjoyed  my  last  day  at  the  Lakes  exceedingly, 
and  was  perfectly  enchanted  with  Derwentwater. 
I  got  a  beautiful  little  canoe  and  spent  the  even- 
ing on  the  Lake,  and  did  not  paddle  home  till  it 
was  about  dark.  The  tints  on  the  hills  and  the 
lights  on  the  water  and  the  quietness  —  well, 
everything  was  perfect. 

'  The  transition  to  Newcastle  was  abrupt.  There 
was  a  marriage  and  the  inevitable  meeting! 
Young  folk  alone.  I  ran  away  to  hear  Henry 
Moorhouse  [the  American  evangelist].  He 
wants  me  to  go  to  America  with  him. 

4  He  said  to  me,  "  You  must  not  let  any  person 
gather  manna  for  you  —  you  must  go  every  day 
and  gather  it  for  yourself." 

'  I  give  you  the  beautiful  text  I  got  this  morning : 
"  Now  the  Lord  my  God  hath  given  me  rest  on 
every  side  "  (i  Kings  v.  4).' 

'GLEN  ELM,  STIRLING,  Sept.  21,  1876. 

' .  .  .  Thank  you  very  much  for  Pulsford;  I  like  it 
extremely.  It  has  almost  become  part  of  myself 
already,  as  I  have  it  always  by  me.  What  I  like 
about  it  is  its  great  reverence,  not  only  for  reli- 
gion, but  for  everything  and  everybody.  It  seems 
to  be  full  of  "  points  "  besides.  Excuse  me  also 
remarking  on  the  binding ;  one  likes  to  see  one's 
friends  decently  dressed.  I  used  to  wish  your 
Tersteegen  was  not  quite  so  dilapidated !  I  am 
very  glad  you  are  at  Brighton.  ...  B.  is  a  place 
of  few,  but  very  happy,  memories  to  me.  Firstly, 


JET.  25]  BACK  TO  COLLEGE  121 

it  is  associated  with  Frederick  William  Robert- 
son, from  whom  I  got  a  great  deal  of  good ;  and 
secondly,  with  the  Brighton  convention,  from 
which  I  got  no  harm.  The  first  thing  I  should 
do  if  I  were  there  again  would  be  to  visit  Rob- 
ertson's grave.  He  used  to  be  one  of  my  few 
heroes. 

*  My  life  is  still  the  same  knotless  thread  that  it  used 
to  be.  I  have  been  trying  to  do  a  little  here  and 
there,  but  personally  I  see  no  further  than  before. 
And,  do  you  know,  a  strange  thought  comes  to 
me  sometimes  that  "  waiting  "  has  the  same  kind 
of  effect  upon  one  that  affliction  has?  I  do  not 
know  truly  if  this  be  so,  for  I  do  not  know  what 
affliction  is ;  but  I  sometimes  wonder  whether  or 
not  the  effects  may  not  to  some  small  extent  run 
in  the  same  lines.  My  freshest  truth  is  still  "  the 
will  of  God."  May  it  always  be  so.  It  has  been 
a  great  help  to  many  of  my  friends  here.' 

In  September  he  was  preaching  and  evangelising 
in  various  parts  of  Scotland.  He  took  a  few  Sundays 
in  the  church  in  Ayr,  and  in  answer  to  an  invitation 
from  Bonskeid  writes  from  Ayr  as  follows :  — 

1 1  have  had  no  opportunity  of  deserving  a  holiday. 
My  programme  is  full.  ...  I  like  Kenman  ex- 
ceedingly ;  he  came  with  me  to  G on  Sunday, 

and  we  tackled  the  beadle  at  the  close  of  the 
service.  I  really  believe  the  man  was  converted. 
At  all  events,  he  prayed.  Did  you  ever  hear  of 
a  beadle  praying?  I  am  to  be  in  Ayrshire  till 
Wednesday,  and  then  I  hope  to  be  at  the  Glasgow 
convention.  The  programme  is  rather  clumsy,  I 
think.  I  am  hacking  my  way  through  two  old 
sermons  for  Sabbath.' 


122  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1876-77 

In  the  end  of  the  year  he  accepted  an  invitation 
from  Mr.  Wilson  of  the  Barclay  Church  to  assist  him 
for  some  months. 

'6,  LONSDALE  TERRACE,  EDINBURGH, 
Feb.  i,  1877. 

'  .  .  .  Was  I  "forlorn"  when  I  wrote  last?  I  dare- 
say I  might  have  been,  feeling  the  loneliness  of  a 
new  position.  But  that  is  past  now,  and  I  am  in 
full  swing  of  work  and  very  happy.  Rather  I 
should  say  I  am  very  interested.  I  do  not  feel 
that  I  am  in  my  life-work,  however,  but  am  cer- 
tain it  is  a  splendid  and  unique  training  for  it, 
and  I  am  sure  I  shall  thank  God  for  it  long  after- 
wards if  I  am  spared.  The  work  is  very  heavy, 
but  all  very  interesting  and  enjoyable.  It  includes 
a  sermon  on  Sabbath,  a  prayer-meeting  address 
on  Wednesday,  a  children's  meeting  on  Friday, 
and  an  evangelistic  meeting  on  Sabbath  night. 
This  is  the  regular  weekly  programme,  but  the 
unengaged  nights  are  generally  occupied  with 
meetings  of  some  sort  or  private  work  with  in- 
quirers, of  whom  there  are  always  one  or  two 
somewhere.  Indeed,  this  last  is  the  best  part  of 
it  all,  and  there  have  been  some  deeply  interesting 
cases  behind  the  scenes  to  keep  the  old  fire  from 
quite  burning  out. 

'  I  have  to  make  new  sermons  every  Sabbath, 
which  take  much  time  and  study.  ...  I  have 
preached  a  regular  series  on  the  "  Will  of  God," 
and  am  going  to  write  two  or  three  more  still. 
It  is  a  profound  and  marvellous  subject.  But  I 
do  not  think  I  am  getting  the  people  to  take  it 
up.1  ...  I  have  had  dreams  of  coming  to  Lon- 

1  He  rather  bored  his  friends  these  months  with  his  continual  insistence  on 
this  subject. 


,£T.  25]  BACK  TO  COLLEGE  123 

don,  as  I  have  a  very  urgent  and  warm  corre- 
spondence from  Dr.  Dykes  just  now  to  come  and 
be  his  assistant,  but  I  cannot  see  anything  more 
than  dreams  in  them  in  the  meantime.  .  .  . 
'I  am  trying  to  live  on  the  text  I  sent  you  at 
Christmas,  which  seems  to  me  to  be  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  pieces  of  teaching  in  the  whole 
Testament.1  I  think  I  have  got  a  little  way  in 
to  its  meaning,  and  find  it  very  wonderful  .  .  .' 

I  think  that  it  was  at  this  time  of  his  life  that  he 
used  to  go  down  every  night  of  the  week  to  the  Grass- 
market  and  convoy  a  man  home  past  the  public-houses. 
In  March  he  again  wrote  that  he  could  not  come  to 
Bonskeid. 

'  6,  LONSDALE  TERRACE,  Saturday. 

'I  must  deny  myself  this  and  all  other  forms  of 
worldliness  for  at  .least  six  weeks,  unless  the  Bar- 
clay steeple  comes  down  in  the  interim,  which  is  a 
consummation  devoutly  to  be  wished.  I  feel  like 
a  squirrel  in  a  cage  just  now  —  hinc  ilia  lach- 
rymtz  / ' 

He  had  thrown  himself  into  the  Barclay  work  with 
great  diligence,  not  a  little  inspired  by  the  feelings  of 
affection  and  admiration  which  he  always  felt  towards 
Mr.  Wilson.  The  latter  had  gathered  round  him  a 
strong  band  of  young  men,  and  they  and  the  inquirers 
whom  he  constantly  drew  to  him  were  Drummond's 
chief  joy  in  the  work.  But  the  congregational  routine 
was  not,  as  the  last  letter  shows,  to  his  taste,  and  he 
felt  cramped.  Most,  if  not  all,  of  the  discourses  pub- 
lished in  the  The  Ideal  Life  were  delivered  from  the 
Barclay  pulpit.  His  work  there  came  to  a  close  with 
the  end  of  April. 

1  I  Tim.  i.  12  (?). 


124  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1877 

To  Mrs.  Stuart 

'GLEN  ELM,  STIRLING,  June  28,  1877. 

'  My  story  is  soon  told.  I  stayed  with  Mr.  Wilson 
till  ist  May.  Then  he  got  so  thoroughly  well 
that  I  saw  I  was  no  longer  a  necessity,  and 
struck  my  tent  accordingly.  I  was  a  little  tired, 
as  the  work  was  not  light,  and  I  was  glad  to  get  a 
chance  and  go  knapsacking  with  Professor  Geikie 
for  a  little.  A  fortnight's  mission  in  Kirkcaldy 
followed,  and  then  a  week  at  the  General  Assem- 
bly. Since  then  I  have  been  studying  at  home 
with  an  occasional  flight  into  evangelism. 

'  My  future  as  usual  is  all  in  the  clouds.  Everything 
is  as  dark  as  ever  —  or  shall  I  say  as  bright  as 
ever?  Faith-colour  would  be  the  best  word,  only 
I  am  not  quite  assured  enough  to  use  it.' 

In  June  he  went  north  to  address  a  meeting  of  the 
Pitlochrie  Young  Men's  Association.  There  was  a 
cricket-match  in  one  of  the  Bonskeid  parks,  in  which 
he  took  part,  and  when  it  was  over  and  the  visitors 
gone,  four  of  us  were  left  together  to  spend  the  even- 
ing, which  closed  in  dark  and  rainy.  With  his  usual 
resource  Drummond  invented  a  game  for  us.  '  They 
play  it  in  America,'  he  said,  *  with  bowie-knives.  Four 
men  are  locked  into  a  dark  room,  each  in  a  corner, 
and  the  survivor  wins.  We'll  do  without  the  knives ; 
the  door  and  the  shutters  shall  be  shut,  each  of  us  will 
stand  in  a  corner,  and  the  first  who  gets  on  another 
man's  back  will  be  the  winner.'  It  was,  I  think,  the 
most  exciting  game  I  ever  played.  Nobody  stirred 
from  his  corner  for  twenty  minutes.  Then  I  heard  a 
scuffle  between  two  of  the  others,  felt  my  way  to  fling 
myself  on  both  of  them,  when  Drummond  pounced  on 


ALT.  25]  BACK  TO   COLLEGE  125 

me,  and  we  all  rolled  in  a  heap,  he  of  course  on  the 
top  —  as  he  always  was. 

In  July  he  went  for  a  tour  in  Norway  with  Robert 
Barbour,  to  whom  he  afterwards  sent  this  letter,  nota- 
ble at  least  for  its  charming  definition  of  a  holiday:  — 

'GLEN  ELM  LODGE,  STIRLING,  Aug.  21,  1877. 
'  My  programme  since  coming  from  Norway  has 
been  very  simple  and  very  happy.  I  have  scarcely 
stirred  from  my  den.  I  have  studied  some,  and 
read  crowds  of,  books.  The  Ring  and  the  Book  I 
have  gone  through  with  increasing  interest,  and 
Hutton's  Essays  have  filled  me  with  admiration 
for  everybody  except  myself.  I  have  just  got 
Shairp's  new  book,  which  I  think  will  delight  you, 
if  you  have  not  seen  it,  The  Poetic  Interpretation 
of  Nature,  my  only  other  novelties  being  Puls- 
ford's  new  volume  of  sermons  and  a  book  by 
Enigmas  of  Lifes  brother,  A  Layman  s  Legacy, 
which  is  only  mediocre.  Norway  did  me  a  world 
of  good ;  it  was  a  clear  month  out  of  reading, 
out  of  thinking,  out  of  planning  for  the  future,  out 
of  responsibility  for  others.  Not  a  shred  of  those 
things  followed  me ;  I  forgot  them  all  and  I  think 
this  is  the  true  holiday  —  to  be  one's  simplest  self, 
forget  the  past,  and  ignore  the  future.  This  is 
fearfully  heathenish,  and  I  sometimes  had  my 
misgivings,  but  I  think  now  it  is  right.  I  never 
came  back  to  work,  to  books,  to  Christianity,  I 
might  almost  say,  with  such  a  spring ;  the  world 
seemed  new  born.  The  first  sermon  I  heard  was 
heaven  opened ;  preaching  myself  was  inspiration. 
I  should  like  to  have  your  version  when  you 
write ;  or  you  can  write  a  treatise  if  you  like  "  On 
the  Philosophy  of  Holidays,"  which  is  a  subject 


126  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1877 

quite  worth  thinking  about,  seeing  that  most  men 
in  our  line  give  at  least  one-twelfth  of  their  year 
to  it. 

'  I  went  in  to  the  Commission  ten  days  ago,  mainly 
to  recover  my  ecclesiastical  vocabulary.  I  had 
really  forgotten  all  the  more  important  words, 
also  in  theology,  from  pure  disuse.  .  .  . 

'I  am  a  missionary  again  —  sad  relapse  from  an 
assistant's  airy  height.  A  handful  of  colliers,  in 
a  place  near  Polmont,  were  needing  shepherding, 
and  I  go  down  every  Sabbath  to  preach  twice  to 
them.  It  is  most  delightful  work,  and  I  would 
not  exchange  it  for  anywhere.' 

In  spite  of  these  bright  intervals  of  holiday  and 
work,  Drummond,  still  uncertain  of  his  future,  was  not 
happy.  He  afterwards  called 1  this  year  '  the  most  mis- 
erable time  of  his  life,  not  seeing  what  definite  work 
he  could  do  to  earn  his  bread,  and  yet  get  time  to 
preach.  When  he  came  from  Norway  he  went  to 
New  College  to  see  in  the  Calendar  what  subjects 
were  required  for  examination  for  license,  though  he 
did  not  want  to  be  licensed.  He  had  been  blamed 
(he  says),  as  if  he  had  given  up  the  ministry,  but  he 
has  never  been  a  minister,  nor  wanted  to  be.  At  col- 
lege he  found  some  numbers  of  Nature  that  had  been 
accumulating  for  him,  and  then  all  his  scientific  studies 
came  back  upon  him.  But  he  saw  no  use  for  his 
Natures  now  that  his  college  career  was  at  an  end ; 
and  as  he  went  down  the  Mound  he  gave  them  to  an 
engine-driver,  saying  they  were  some  journals  he  might 
find  interesting.  In  a  day  or  two  he  noticed  the  death 
of  Mr.  Keddie  (lecturer  on  Natural  Science  in  the 

1  To  Professor  Simpson,  with  whom  he  had  a  long  talk  about  his  career  a  few 
months  before  his  death. 


JET.  26]  BACK  TO   COLLEGE  127 

Free  Church  College,  Glasgow),  and  wrote  to  Principal 
Douglas  to  ask  if  it  was  any  use  his  applying  for  the 
lectureship.  Dr.  Douglas  encouraged  him.  He  got 
a  very  commendatory  testimonial  from  Professor  Archi- 
bald Geikie,  as  well  as  some  others,  but  he  thinks 
Geikie's  got  him  the  place.'  On  September  i  yth  the 
General  Assembly's  College  Committee  appointed  him 
to  the  lectureship  for  one  session,  and  so  he  found 
the  work  that  ultimately  formed  the  profession  and 
settled  post  after  which  he  had  been  groping  for  two 
years. 

During  these  years  of  uncertainty  and  painful  wait- 
ing for  the  issue  of  his  life,  Drummond  had  been  much 
sustained  by  studying  the  teaching  of  the  Bible  upon 
the  Will  of  God.  He  had  put  the  result  in  three  ser- 
mons which  he  preached  from  the  Barclay  pulpit,  and 
which  now  form  the  last  of  his  volume,  The  Ideal  Life, 
'What  is  God's  Will? "The  Relation  of  the  Will  of 
God  to  Sanctification,'  and  '  How  to  know  the  Will  of 
God.'  But  he  has  summarised  the  knowledge  which 
the  study  and  experience  of  three  years  of  waiting 
brought  him,  in  eight  maxims,  which  he  inscribed 
upon  the  fly-leaf  of  his  Bible. 

To  FIND  OUT  GOD'S  WILL 

1 .  Pray. 

2.  Think. 

3.  Talk  to  wise  people,  but  do  not   regard  their 
decision  as  final. 

4.  Beware  of  the  bias  of  your  own  will,  but  do  not 
be    too   much  afraid   of  it  (God   never  unnecessarily 
thwarts  a  man's  nature  and  likings,  and  it  is  a  mistake 
to  think  that   His  will    is    in    the   line  of   the   disa- 
greeable). 

5.  Meantime   do  the  next  thing  (for  doing  God's 


128  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1878 

will  in  small  things  is  the  best  preparation  for  know- 
ing it  in  great  things). 

6.  When   decision    and    action   are   necessary,   go 
ahead. 

7.  Never  reconsider  the  decision  when  it  is  finally 
acted  upon ;  and 

8.  You  will  probably  not  find  out  till  afterwards, 
perhaps  long  afterwards,  that  you  have  been  led  at  all. 


CHAPTER   VI 

SCIENCE   AND   RELIGION.     1877-1883 

THE  presence  in  a  divinity  hall  of  a  lectureship  on 
Natural  Science  is  a  phenomenon  which  requires  some 
explanation.  In  the  case  of  the  Free  Church  of  Scot- 
land it  was  not  due,  as  has  sometimes  been  supposed, 
to  the  Roman  policy  of  qualifying  so  inevitable  an 
influence  as  modern  science  by  straining  it  through  a 
theological  filter ;  but  it  arose  very  reasonably  out  of 
the  condition  of  the  Scottish  universities  in  1843, 
when  the  Free  Church  separated  from  the  State. 

At  that  time  the  Arts  chairs  in  the  universities 
were  still  under  tests,  and  the  Free  Church  felt  herself 
obliged  to  supply  for  her  students  not  only  a  theologi- 
cal curriculum,  but  a  full  Arts  one  as  well.  New  Col- 
lege, Edinburgh,  at  first  included  professorships  or 
lectureships  in  Classics,  Mathematics,  and  Philosophy, 
and  these  continued  till  the  university  tests  were 
abolished.1  But  in  addition  a  chair  of  Natural  Science 
was  founded,  at  the  instigation  of  Sir  David  Brewster, 
Hugh  Miller,  and  others,  who  had  strong  feelings  of 
the  need  of  it  in  training  young  men  for  the  ministry.2 
These  feelings  were  due  to  the  healthy  opinion  that 
Natural  Science  should  be  a  factor  in  the  Arts  cur- 
riculum, in  which  nevertheless  no  Scottish  university 
save  that  of  Aberdeen  had  yet  placed  it.  Other  mem- 

1  Two  of  the  New  College  Professors,  Macdougall  and  Campbell  Fraser,  after- 
wards became  the  University  Professors  of  Moral  Philosophy  and  Logic. 
8  See  a  speech  by  Principal  Rainy  in  the  General  Assembly  of  1884. 

K  129 


I3O  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1878 

bers  of  the  Church,  too,  felt  that  science  would  so 
largely  enter  into  Christian  apologetics,  and  into  the 
materials  for  preaching,  as  to  justify  a  separate  class 
for  its  treatment.  Consequently,  when  the  other  Arts 
chairs  in  New  College  came  to  an  end,  that  of  Natural 
Science  was  continued,  first  under  Dr.  Fleming,  then 
under  Dr.  Duns ;  and  a  lectureship  was  established  in 
the  second  Free  Church  College  at  Glasgow.  The 
latter  was  held  till  1877  by  Mr.  Keddie,  F.R.S.E.,  and 
on  his  death,  as  we  have  seen,  Henry  Drummond  se- 
cured the  temporary  appointment  for  session  1877-78. 
The  students  in  Glasgow  College  varied  from  sev- 
enty to  one  hundred.  Drummond  lectured  to  the  First 
Year,  from  twelve  to  twenty-four  in  number.  He  had 
no  lines  prescribed  to  him  and  chose  to  instruct  the 
students  in  the  rudiments  of  geology  and  botany  and 
in  the  general  methods  of  modern  science.1  The  sal- 
ary was  £  1 50  a  year,  the  lectures  four  a  week  from  the 
beginning  of  November  to  the  end  of  March.  Their 
preparation  occupied  the  whole  of  his  time,  and  I  find 
in  existence  no  letters  from  him  during  this  session  and 
no  record  of  other  work.  The  following  was  written 
when  the  session  closed :  — 

'GLEN  ELM  LODGE,  STIRLING,  April  20,  1878. 

'  .  .  .  I  am  in  the  statu  quo.  Session  ended  well. 
We  wound  up  with  four  days'  geologising  in 
Arran,  and  had  a  glorious  time.  Eleven  men 
mustered,  the  cream  of  the  class,  and  we  ham- 
mered the  Island  almost  to  bits  —  nothing  left 
but  the  hotel  and  a  ledge  of  rock  to  smoke  on ! ' 

In  May  he  had  ten  days  more  geologising,  this  time 
among   the  Cairngorms  and  with   Professor  Geikie. 

1  See  further,  p.  268. 


MT.  26]  SCIENCE  AND   RELIGION  I  3 1 

In  the  end  of  the  month  he  returned  to  Glasgow,  to 
attend  the  meetings  of  the  General  Assembly,  the  first 
for  many  years  held  outside  Edinburgh.  The  most 
important  business  before  this  Assembly  was  the  con- 
sideration of  the  '  relevancy '  of  the  charge  made 
against  Professor  Robertson  Smith  before  the  Pres- 
bytery of  Aberdeen,  of  contravening  by  his  articles  in 
the  Encyclopaedia  Britannica  the  doctrine  of  inspira- 
tion in  the  Westminster  Confession  of  Faith.  The 
question  was  narrowed  to  the  Professor's  statement  of 
the  non-Mosaic  authorship  of  Deuteronomy.  A  mo- 
tion by  Sir  Henry  Moncrieff  that  such  a  statement 
would,  if  proved,  contravene  the  Confession,  was  car- 
ried by  a  small  majority  over  one  by  Principal  Rainy, 
that  the  charge  was  not  relevant ;  and  the  case  was 
sent  back  for  proof  to  the  Presbytery  of  Aberdeen. 
But  the  moral  victory  was  felt  to  lie  with  the  Profess- 
or's opinions,  and  as  it  turned  out  he  was  acquitted 
by  the  Presbytery  and,  on  a  narrow  majority  of  three, 
by  a  subsequent  Assembly.1  At  this  stage  of  the 
famous  trial  Drummond's  own  mind  was  not  very 
clear,  but  he  was  evidently  impressed  by  the  speeches 
for  the  defence. 

'ASSEMBLY  HALL,  Saturday  [first  Saturday  of  June],  1878. 

'Mv  DEAR  MOTHER,  — .  .  .  The  Smith  and  Dods 
cases  are  very  well  over,  and  every  one  is  thankful 
for  the  peace  of  the  end.  [Alas,  it  was  not  the 
end !]  The  speaking  of  Smith,  Rainy,  and  others 
has  been  extraordinary,  and  has  made  the  Assem- 
bly very  profitable.  Last  night  I  spent  at  an 
evangelistic  meeting  in  Grove  Street  with  Willie 
Ferguson  and  Mac  Gill.  I  was  with  the  same 
party  on  Wednesday  morning,  having  an  open- 

1  1880.     See  p.  141. 


132  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1878 

air   meeting  in   a  foundry  during  the  breakfast 
hour;  so  I  have  not  been  altogether  useless.' 

By  this  Assembly  Drummond  was  appointed  to 
another  session  of  the  lectureship;  but  the  summer 
was  free,  and,  eager  for  some  religious  work,  he  ac- 
cepted an  invitation  to  take  charge  of  the  Free  Church 
of  Scotland's  station  at  Malta,  in  the  absence  of  the 
chaplain,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Wisely.  The  following  letters 
are  to  his  friends  Ross  and  Barbour :  — 

'VALLETTA,   MALTA,  July  4,   1878. 

1  My  DEAR  Ross, — This  is  the  day  of  your  ordination, 
and  I  am  not  unmindful  of  you.  My  thoughts 
are  Dundeewards,  and  if  good  wishes  can  do  you 
any  good  in  your  new  work  you  have  them  in 
abundance  from  this  far-off  land.  ...  I  am  not 
going  to  bother  you  with  much  of  this  tissue- 
paper  caligraphy,  as  I  have  little  to  say  yet  about 
Malta  that  would  interest  you.  Besides,  with  the 
thermometer  at  90°  in  the  shade  letter-writing  is 
far  from  being  a  luxury,  especially  as  I  have  to 
sally  forth  on  a  mosquito  hunt  between  every 
second  sentence.  I  had  a  splendid  tour  here.  It 
began  with  a  peep  at  the  Paris  Exhibition,  then 
with  a  run  through  Italy  and  Sardinia,  and 
wound  up  with  a  voyage  to  Africa,  where  I  stayed 
a  week. 

4  I  have  only  been  three  days  here.  It  is  a  splendid 
place.  If  the  heat  allow  it,  I  am  sure  I  shall 
enjoy  the  work  greatly.  The  chief  items  are 
three  services  on  Sundays,  one  or  two  in  the 
camps  through  the  week,  and  hospital  visitation. 
It  will  be  pretty  hard,  but  I  am  only  to  have  two 
months  of  it. 


T.  27]  SCIENCE  AND   RELIGION  133 

'  Now  do  write  me  a  line  and  tell  me  "  wie  es  sieht 
in  der  Welt  aus,"  to  quote  your  famous  Tubingen 
phrase.  I  hope  you  have  had  a  good  start.' 

'  REV.  MR.  WISELY'S,  VALLETTA,  MALTA, 
July  4,  1878. 

*  LIEBER  ROBERT,  — This  time  last  year  we  were  sing- 
ing chorales  on  the  North  Sea.  You  no  doubt 
are  singing  them  still  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 
I  am  killing  mosquitoes  in  Malta. 

' . . .  Malta  seems  a  most  interesting  place,  thoroughly 
civilised,  and  inhabited  by  every  nation  on  earth. 
There  is  a  magnificently  equipped  English  library, 
where  I  spend  the  morning  before  work  begins, 
and  there  are  museums  when  one  is  tired  of  the 
endless  museum  of  the  streets.  I  came  here  via 
Paris,  Marseilles,  Italy,  Sardinia,  and  Africa.  In 
Africa  I  spent  a  week.  My  headquarters  were 
Tunis,  the  second  largest  city  in  Africa.  The 
change  to  Oriental  life  was  most  interesting,  in 
fact,  Tunis  is  the  most  interesting  place  I  have 
ever  seen.  Arabs,  deserts,  palms,  and  camels 
are  strange  sights  to  a  European,  and  I  would 
recommend  every  one  who  comes  near  the  Medi- 
terranean to  give  a  few  days  to  North  Africa.  I 
was  all  alone,  and  it  is  out  of  the  tourists'  track, 
so  sometimes  I  felt  rather  eerie.  One  day  I 
spent  among  the  ruins  of  ancient  Carthage  — 
profoundly  interesting.  .  .  .  Yours  most  sin- 

cerev»  HENRY  DRUMMOND. 

'  P.S.    Paul  was  three  months  here  ! ' 

'GLEN  ELM  LODGE,  STIRLING,  Sept.  17,  1878. 

4  LIEBER  ROBERT, — .  .  .  I  came  home  on  Friday. 
The  chief  event  on  the  way  was  a  sunrise  from 


134  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1878-79 

Etna.  Etna  is  only  three  thousand  feet  lower  than 
Mt.  Blanc,  so  the  climb  was  glorious  and  the  view 
from  the  crater  a  miracle  of  grandeur.  After 
Sicily,  I  did  Naples,  Pompeii,  Herculaneum, 
Vesuvius,  the  Island  of  Capri,  Pozzuoli ;  then 
Rome,  Florence,  Milan,  the  Italian  Lakes,  and 
home  over  the  St.  Gotthard  Pass  with  Switzer- 
land ;  thence  by  Basle,  Paris,  and  Calais.' 

In  September  Drummond  settled  down  again  in 
Glasgow.  He  was  happy  in  his  lectureship,  and  very 
happy  in  his  colleagues,  with  whom  he  was  to  work 
for  nineteen  years  on  terms  of  the  closest  affection 
and  confidence.  Principal  Douglas,  who  was  Pro- 
fessor of  Hebrew,  Professor  T.  M.  Lindsay,  who  had 
the  Church  History  Chair,  Professor  James  Candlish, 
who  taught  Systematic  and  Pastoral  Theology,  and 
Professor  A.  B.  Bruce,  who  had  the  Chairs  of  Apolo- 
getics and  the  New  Testament.  Drummond's  few 
lectures  gave  him  leisure  for  other  work,  and  he  had 
not  forgotten  his  calling  as  an  evangelist.  '  I  want,' 
he  had  written  in  April  of  this  year,  '  a  quiet  mission 
somewhere,  entry  immediate  and  self-contained.'  He 
had  attached  himself  to  Renfield  Free  Church,  under 
the  ministry  of  Dr.  Marcus  Dods,  and  was  ordained 
as  an  elder.  The  congregation  had  recently  adopted 
a  mission  station  in  Possilpark,  and  in  April  Dr.  Dods 
had  offered  the  charge  of  it  to  Drummond,  who  en- 
tered upon  his  duties  when  he  returned  from  Malta. 
Possilpark  is  a  northern  suburb  of  Glasgow.  In  1878 
its  population  was  said  to  be  about  six  thousand,  mostly 
working-class  families  settled  in  recently  built  houses. 
They  were  nearly  all  well-to-do  people,  but  in  the 
autumn  of  1878  the  City  of  Glasgow  Bank  failed  and 
cast  hundreds  of  them  out  of  work.  It  was  a  terrible 


yET.  27]  SCIENCE  AND   RELIGION  135 

winter;  the  social  distress  was  aggravated  by  very 
severe  cold,  and  city  missionaries,  not  in  Glasgow 
only  but  all  over  Scotland,  passed  through  experiences 
which  they  can  never  forget.  The  ordinary  labours 
of  charity  were  increased  tenfold ;  investigations  had 
to  be  made  into  hundreds  of  new  cases,  and,  owing  to 
the  number  of  honest  families  thrown  into  a  distress 
to  which  they  were  absolutely  new,  the  work  required 
extraordinary  patience  and  tact.  But  the  rewards 
were  great.  The  missionaries  came  into  personal  re- 
lation with  a  large  number  of  lives  they  would  proba- 
bly never  have  touched,  and  obtained  abundant  proofs 
of  the  courage  and  honesty  of  the  mass  of  Scottish 
working-men.  One  missionary,  who  was  given  ^40 
for  distribution  in  his  district,  found  that  the  most  of 
it  would  be  accepted  only  in  the  form  of  loans,  and 
had  not  less  than  ^23  repaid  to  him  when  work  grew 
better  in  the  course  of  the  following  year. 

To  Robert  W.  Barbour 

'September  17,  1878. 

'  On  Sunday  I  was  "  introduced  "  to  my  new  flock 
in  Glasgow  by  Dods,  and  I  begin  work  there  at 
once.  I  have  a  splendid  prospect  for  the  winter 
—  a  district  of  six  thousand  people,  none  of  them 
lapsed  as  yet,  no  opposition,  and  many  willing, 
helping  hands.' 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stuart 

'  POSSILPARK,  GLASGOW,  Nov.  22,  1878. 

*.  .  .  In  the  first  place  I  have  my  college  lectures, 
which  is  enough  for  any  man.  Secondly,  I  have 
now  a  church.  On  Sabbath  I  preach  twice, 


136  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1878-79 

attend  schools  and  classes.  On  Mondays  I  look 
after  a  bank ;  on  Tuesdays  I  give  a  popular  lect- 
ure. On  Wednesdays  a  mothers'  meeting  in  the 
afternoon,  a  lecture  to  children  at  seven,  the  con- 
gregational prayer-meeting  at  eight.  The  other 
two  nights  I  visit  the  poor  and  the  sick,  or  hold 
meetings  elsewhere.  I  am  just  starting  now, 
ten  miles,  for  a  meeting  to-night.  This  is  my 
programme  every  week.  In  addition  to  all  this, 
I  have  had  the  horror  of  my  examination  for 
license  hanging  over  me  from  the  hour  I  landed 

from  Malta.' 

'PossiLPARK,  March  21,  1879. 

' ...  So  you  have  been  to  America  and  seen  Moody. 
For  myself  I  have  had  a  long,  quiet,  busy  winter. 
My  little  church  gets  on  bravely,  though  it  has 
been  a  dreadful  winter  in  Glasgow.  Thousands 
have  been  really  starving  all  winter,  and  out  here 
I  have  had  to  feed  scores  of  families  with  the 
meat  that  perisheth,  and  a  scant  seasoning  only 
of  the  other.  We  are  past  the  worst  now,  I  hope, 
though  the  snow  is  still  thick  on  the  ground. 

'  Although  I  have  a  church,  I  am  not  a  minister  yet. 
Mrs.  Grundy,  I  am  glad  to  say,  has  not  prevailed. 
I  am  not  ordained,  nor  have  I  any  desire  to  be, 
or  prospect  of  being.  My  old  desires  and  aims 
are  there  still,  unchanged.  I  have  taken  what  we 
call  license,  and  which  is  often  mistaken  for  ordi- 
nation, but  it  is  little  more  than  a  college  certifi- 
cate of  a  theological  education.  And  my  church 
is  a  mere  appendage  to  my  college  work  to  fill  up 
spare  interest  and  time.  By  and  by  I  give  it  up, 
and  plunge  into  evangelism.  I  shall  retain  my 
college  work  —  it  will  be  corrective  without  being 
absorbing.  I  have  had  several  calls  this  winter 


r.  28J  SCIENCE  AND   RELIGION  137 

to  be  ordained  to  churches  in  different  places,  but 
have  refused  them  all  on  this  secret  ground.  No 
one,  however,  can  understand  me.  I  am  looked 
upon  as  "queer."  You  will  understand,  however, 
that  I  have  not  bowed  down  and  worshipped 
Mrs.  G.  If  you  ever  write  Mr.  Moody,  I  wish 
you  would  tell  him  that.  He,  too,  thinks  I  have 
fallen. 

'  I  am  going  to  take  my  class  down  to  the  Island  of 
Arran  for  some  days'  geologising.  .  .  .' 

'PossiLFARK,  GLASGOW,  July  25,  1879. 

' .  .  .  You  wrote  me  on  the  eve  of  your  departure  to 
America.  It  is  now  my  turn.  I  start  next  Thurs- 
day. I  am  to  be  away  three  months  —  all  the 
time  in  the  Far  West.  I  am  going  with  Professor 
Geikie,  whom  you  know.  We  are  to  geologise 
in  the  Rocky  Mountains.  I  suppose  we  shall  be 
camped  out  all  the  time,  shooting,  fishing,  and 
hammering,  so  we  shall  see  nothing  of  the  States. 
I  mean,  of  course,  to  make  a  great  effort  to  run 
off  for  a  day  or  two  with  D.  L.  M.,1  but  I  shall 
have  to  reserve  civilised  America  for  a  future 
occasion. 

'  Now  that  I  have  introduced  myself,  I  must  recall 
events  since  I  wrote  last.  My  life  has  been  very 
humdrum,  toiling  away  in  a  mission  district  since 
college  closed  last  March.  My  college  appoint- 
ment was  made  permanent  by  my  election  to  the 
Chair2  last  Assembly,  so  that  there  is  no  fear  of 
my  being  a  settled  minister.  I  shall  lecture  five 
months  and  be  a  vagrant,  or  a  city,  missionary 
during  the  other  seven.  It  is  an  odd  life,  but  it 
suits  me.' 

1  Mr.  Moody.  3  Lectureship. 


138  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1879-81 

On  the  3ist  of  July  he  sailed  for  America.  The 
account  of  his  geological  expedition  to  the  Rocky 
Mountains  with  Professor  Geikie  may  be  postponed 
to  a  separate  chapter. 

On  his  return  from  the  Rockies,  Drummond  found 
himself  at  Boston,  and  in  a  curious  dilemma.  He  had 
five  days  before  he  sailed  for  home.  He  was  in  the 
city  of  Lowell  and  Longfellow,  Bryant,  Emerson, 
Channing,  Agassiz,  and  Holmes ;  and  he  had  an  in- 
vitation to  meet  Longfellow  and  Holmes  at  dinner. 

*  Longfellow  I  had  learned  to  love  from  my  youth 
up;  Holmes,  ever  since  the  mystery  of  the  three 
Johns  and  the  three  Toms  caught  my  school-boy 
fancy  years  ago,  has  been  to  me  a  mouth  and 
wisdom.  And  naturally  the  attraction  of  these 
names  was  a  powerful  inducement  to  me  to  spend 
my  last  days  in  quiet  worship  at  shrines  so  revered 
and  beloved.  But  some  eight  hundred  miles  off, 
away  by  Lake  Erie,  were  two  men  who  were  more 
to  me  than  philosopher  or  poet,  and  it  only 
required  a  moment's  thought  to  convince  me 
that  for  me,  at  least,  a  visit  to  America  would  be 
much  more  than  incomplete  without  a  visit  to 
Mr.  Moody  and  Mr.  Sankey.  It  was  hard,  I  must 
say,  to  give  up  Longfellow,  but  I  am  one  of  those 
who  think  that  the  world  is  not  dying  for  poets 
so  much  as  for  preachers.  I  set  off  at  once.  .  .  . 
Neither  of  the  men  seemed  the  least  changed. 
There  they  were  before  me,  the  same  men :  Mr. 
Sankey  down  to  the  faultless  set  of  his  black 
necktie,  Mr.  Moody  to  the  chronic  crush  of  his 
collar.  ...  I  can  scarcely  say  I  have  much  to 
record  that  would  be  in  itself  news.  For  my  own 
part  I  am  glad  of  this.  We  do  not  want  anything 


/ET.  28-30]  SCIENCE  AND   RELIGION  1 39 

new  in  revivals.  We  want  always  the  old  factors  — 
the  living  Spirit  of  God,  the  living  Word  of  God, 
the  old  Gospel.  We  want  crowds  coming  to 
hear  —  crowds  made  up  of  the  old  elements;  per- 
ishing men  and  women  finding  their  way  to 
prayer-meeting,  Bible  reading,  and  inquiry  room. 
These  were  all  to  be  seen  in  Cleveland.  It  was 
the  same  as  in  England  and  Scotland.  I  was 
especially  pleased  to  find  that  it  was  the  same  as 
regards  quietness.  I  had  expected  to  find  revival 
work  in  America  more  exciting;  but,  although  a 
deep  work  was  beginning,  everything  was  calm. 
There  was  movement,  but  no  agitation ;  there  was 
power  in  the  meetings,  but  no  frenzy.  And  the 
secret  of  that  probably  lay  here,  that  in  the  speaker 
himself  there  was  earnestness,  but  no  bigotry,  and 
enthusiasm-,  but  no  superstition.' l 

No  more  signal  proof  could  we  have  both  of  Drum- 
mond's  enthusiasm  for  the  Gospel  and  of  his  loyalty  to 
old  friends.  Probably  never  in  all  his  life  did  he  feel 
a  greater  wrench  than  this  from  Boston  and  the 
chance  of  meeting  the  two  poets ;  probably  never 
greater  happiness  than  when  he  burst  in  —  uninvited, 
unannounced  —  upon  the  astonished  evangelists  at 
Cleveland.  And  yet,  —  and  yet,  —  O  Henry,  why 
didn't  you  dine  with  Longfellow  and  Holmes  ? 

From  America  Drummond  returned  to  his  third 
winter  as  lecturer  on  Natural  Science,  and  as  mission- 
ary in  Possilpark.  The  years  '80  and  '81  passed  away 
in  this  double  work,  without  incident  and  almost  with- 
out the  break  of  a  single  holiday. 

The  case  of  Professor  Robertson  Smith  was  pro- 
ceeding from  one  church  court  to  another,  with  vary- 

1  From  a  letter  to  The  Christian,  November,  1879. 


I4O  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1880-81 

ing  and  ambiguous  fortunes.  No  one  knew  how  it 
would  end ;  and  indeed  comparatively  few  were  certain 
on  which  side,  at  the  end,  they  themselves  would  be 
found.  The  truth  is,  it  was  not  so  much  the  trial  of 
one  man  which  was  proceeding,  nor  even  the  trial  of 
one  set  of  opinions,  as  the  education  of  the  whole 
Church  in  face  of  the  facts  which  Biblical  criticism 
had  recently  presented  to  her.  The  Great  Mission  of 
1873-75  had  quickened,  as  we  have  seen,  the  practical 
use  of  the  Bible,  and  the  Church  was  studying  her 
sacred  books  in  the  congregation  and  in  the  Bible  class, 
with  a  freshness  and  a  thoroughness  hardly  seen  before. 
But  now  came  the  necessary  complement  to  all  that, 
in  the  critical  study  of  the  Scriptures;  and  by  those 
who  believe  in  God's  providence  of  His  Church,  it  has 
always  been  a  matter  of  praise  that  the  revival  of  the 
experimental  study  of  the  Scriptures  in  Scotland  pre- 
ceded that  of  the  critical.  Those  who,  with  Professor 
Robertson  Smith,  instigated  the  latter,  were  some  of 
the  devoutest  men  in  the  Church,  of  whom  it  is  right 
to  instance  especially  one  of  Drummond's  own  col- 
leagues :  the  late  Professor  James  Candlish,  a  teacher 
of  undoubted  orthodoxy,  a  most  spiritual  preacher,  a 
finished  scholar,  and,  in  spite  of  his  weak  health  and  a 
rare  modesty,  which  made  him  the  least  aggressive 
spirit  in  the  movement,  a  man  of  courage  and  the 
most  perfect  justice.  These  men  believed  that  Christ's 
promise  of  the  Holy  Spirit  for  the  education  of  His 
Church  was  being  fulfilled,  not  less  in  the  critical  than 
in  the  experimental  use  of  the  Bible ;  they  defended 
criticism  on  the  highest  grounds  of  faith  in  God  and 
loyalty  to  Christ.  But  as  in  every  other  discipline  of 
the  Church  in  new  truth,  so  in  this,  pain  and  restless- 
ness prevailed.  Within,  as  without,  the  church  courts 
discussion  ran  high  and  hot  for  three  years.  The  old 


JEr.  29-30]  SCIENCE  AND   RELIGION 

parties  were  broken  up,  and  even  groups  of  friends  and 
fellow-workers  divided  sharply  under  the  new  tests. 
At  first  Drummond  could  not  but  share  the  general 
uncertainty.  Many  of  his  dearest  friends  and  leaders 
were  opposed  to  Professor  Smith's  views ;  he  himself 
was  not  equipped  with  the  knowledge  of  the  original 
languages  of  the  Bible  which  could  have  enabled  him 
to  form  conclusions  of  his  own.  And  in  the  letter  he 
wrote  from  the  Glasgow  Assembly,  we  have  seen  that 
he  looked  for  peace  arising  out  of  some  compromise. 

But  Drummond's  scientific  training  had  given  him 
a  sense  for  facts,  an  appreciation  of  evidence :  while 
his  strong  and  cheerful  faith  in  God  saved  him  from 
the  confusion  into  which  so  complete  a  revolution  in 
his  views  of  the  methods  of  inspiration  must  otherwise 
have  cast  him.  The  Assembly  of  1880  decided  by 
a  narrow  majority  in  Professor  Smith's  favour,  and 
Drummond  rejoiced  at  the  decision.  When  new  arti- 
cles by  the  professor  appeared  in  the  Encyclopedia 
Britannica,  and  led  the  Assembly's  Commission  of 
the  following  October  to  suspend  him  once  more  from 
his  chair,  Drummond  refused  to  be  satisfied  with  a 
verdict  which,  while  it  saved  the  Church  from  a  pro- 
nouncement against  the  new  views,  prepared  to  sac- 
rifice, for  the  peace  of  the  Church,  their  foremost 
representative ;  and  when  it  became  apparent,  next 
spring,  that  the  General  Assembly  would  complete  the 
work  of  the  Commission,  and  remove  Professor  Smith 
from  his  chair,  Drummond  wrote  in  great  sorrow : 1  — 

'  We  are  all  much  dejected  here  by  the  suicidal  pol- 
icy of  the  majority  in  their  recent  determination 
to  lynch  Smith.  It  will  be  a  very  serious  blow  to 
the  Church,  and  I  fear  nothing  can  avert  it  now.' 

1  Glasgow,  May  21,  1881. 


142  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1881-82 

He  was  right.  Professor  Robertson  Smith  was  sac- 
rificed ;  but  whatever  may  have  been  the  motives  of  the 
leaders  of  the  majority,  —  whether  the  general  peace  of 
the  Church,  or  the  more  subtle  desire  to  save  the 
Church,  by  his  suspension,  from  a  condemnation  of 
the  critical  views,  —  the  latter  result  was  secured,  and 
the  Church  was  allowed  to  find  room  for  methods  of 
research  and  for  views  of  inspiration  more  free  from 
the  errors  of  tradition,  and  more  true  to  the  facts  of 
Scripture  itself.  With  these  new  views,  Drummond, 
though  he  took  no  share  in  developing  them,  was 
henceforth  in  hearty  sympathy.  His  religious  teach- 
ing was  as  much  based  upon  the  Bible  as  it  had  ever 
been ;  but  in  his  own  practical  use  of  the  Bible  he 
exercised  a  new  discrimination,  and  he  often  said 
that  the  critical  movement  had  removed  very  many 
difficulties  in  the  Old  Testament  which  once  puzzled 
him,  and  had  set  him  free  for  the  fuller  apprecia- 
tion of  its  divine  contents. 

Several  years  afterwards,  speaking  of  the  contest  of 
Science  and  Religion,  he  is  reported  to  have  said :  — 

'  The  contest  is  dying  out.  The  new  view  of  the 
Bible  has  rendered  further  apologetics  almost 
superfluous.  I  have  endeavoured  to  show  that 
in  my  articles  on  Creation.1  No  one  now  expects 
science  from  the  Bible.  The  literary  form  of 
Genesis  precludes  the  idea  that  it  is  science. 
You  might  as  well  contrast  Paradise  Lost  with 
geology  as  the  Book  of  Genesis.  Mr.  Huxley 
might  have  been  better  employed  than  in  laying 
that  poor  old  ghost.  The  more  modern  views 
of  the  inspiration  of  the  Bible  have  destroyed 
the  stock-in-trade  of  the  platform  infidel.  Such 

1  See  below,  chap.  x. 


&T.  30]  SCIENCE  AND   RELIGION  143 

men   are  constructing  difficulties  which  do  not 
exist,  and  they  fight  as  those  that  beat  the  air.'1 

Drummond  once  asked  me  to  help  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  a  popular  tract  on  the  Higher  Criticism.  A 
rhetorical  Bishop,  a  defender  of  the  Mosaic  origin  of 
the  Pentateuch,  had  asked  what  the  critics  would 
answer  when  in  the  next  world  Moses  met  them  with 
the  challenge,  '  How  dared  you  say  that  I  did  not 
write  the  Pentateuch  ? '  I  pointed  out  that,  consider- 
ing the  absence  of  all  claims  of  Mosaic  authorship  in 
the  Pentateuch  itself,  it  was  equally  reasonable  to  put 
the  question  in  the  very  opposite  form ;  and  Drum- 
mond's  proposal  was  to  write  the  tract  in  the  form  of 
a  dream  by  the  same  Bishop,  as  though,  being  con- 
veyed to  heaven  and  meeting  Moses,  Moses  should 
ask  him,  '  How  dared  you  say  that  I  did  write  the 
Pentateuch  ? ' 

But  among  all  the  influences  which  were  bearing 
on  Drummond  during  these  years,  the  strongest  came 
through  his  intercourse  with  Dr.  Marcus  Dods.  In 
the  Possilpark  Mission  Dr.  Dods  was  his  ecclesiastical 
superior,  and  they  shared  work  in  those  practical 
movements  for  which  the  religious  life  of  Glasgow 
is  famous;  while,  in  Dr.  Dods'  knowledge  of  litera- 
ture and  of  the  philosophical  tendencies  of  our  time, 
the  younger  man  found  numerous  opportunities  of 
repairing  the  defects  in  his  own  education.  Years 
afterwards  Drummond  said :  '  I  can  claim  Dr.  Dods, 
not  only  as  a  friend  and  elder  brother,  but  as  the 
greatest  influence  in  many  directions  that  has  ever 
come  across  my  life ;  and  that  if  I  have  done  anything 
in  my  poor  way  to  help  anybody  else,  it  has  been 

1  From  '  A  Talk  with  Professor  Drummond,'  by  Raymond  Blathwayt,  in  Great 
Thoughts,  I  think,  about  1890. 


144  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1881-82 

largely  owing  to  what  he  has  done,  and  mainly  by  his 
own  grand  character,  to  help  me.'  Among  the  '  many 
directions '  in  which  this  influence  told  were  those  of 
Biblical  criticism  and  the  application  of  the  hypothesis 
of  evolution  to  the  interpretation  of  religion. 

Most  of  the  members  of  Drummond's  Club  had 
married  by  1881,  and  the  experiment  was  tried  of  ask- 
ing the  wives  to  the  annual  reunion.  This  is  the  let- 
ter that  one  of  them  got  from  Drummond  shortly 
afterwards. 

To  Mrs.  Robert  W.  Barbour 

'  POSSILPARK,  GLASGOW,  May  2ist,  1881. 

1 .  .  .  I  am  so  glad  you  enjoyed  Moffat.  I  must 
confess  I  was  afraid  the  ladies  would  find  us  a 
very  queer  set  of  beings.  We  are  so  accustomed 
to  one  another,  that  when  we  get  together  we  drop 
all  the  graver  responsibilities,  and  become  school- 
boys once  more.  This,  of  course,  is  a  great  and  a 
natural  joy  to  us,  but  I  fancy  you  must  often  have 
been  bewildered  at  us.  Moffat  reminded  me  even 
of  an  earlier  stage  than  the  school-boy  this  year. 
You  know  the  curious  old  memory  of  "going  thro' 
a  wood  when  we  were  children,"  that  was  what 
Moffat  was  to  me:  young,  fresh,  and  buoyant, 
"  children  going  thro'  a  wood  "  ;  yet  I  trust  we  will 
never  forget  this  memory,  nor  lose  this  spirit.  .  .  .' 

Early  in  1882  Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey  began  a 
new  mission  in  Scotland,  passed  in  the  late  summer 
into  Wales  and  the  southwest  of  England,  preached 
in  Paris  for  the  most  of  October,  and  returned  for  the 
winter  to  the  cities  they  had  already  visited  in  Eng- 
land and  Ireland,  and  to  a  number  of  others  in  addi- 
tion. The  mission  was  not  so  powerful  as  that  of 


JEx.  30]  SCIENCE  AND    RELIGION  145 

eight  years  before,  but  a  good  deal  of  real  work  was 
done. 

To  Robert   W.  B  arbour^ 

'  POSSILPARK,  GLASGOW,  March  13,  1882. 

*  DEAR  ROBERT,  —  I  wish  you  could  spend  a  few 
days  in  the  Moody  work.  Stalker  is  coming  on 
Wednesday.  The  movement  amongst  men  in  the 
East  End  has  been  the  main  feature,  and  I  have 
had  some  very  wonderful  cases.  Brown  and 
Ewing  are  both  over  head  and  ears  in  it ;  and  for 
the  workers  at  least,  it  is  quite  as  good  as  the  last 
revival.  At  the  same  time,  the  movement  has  not 
seized  the  city  as  it  did  before,  and  the  scarcity 
of  ministers  at  the  meetings  is  marked.  I  have 
got  a  few  students  to  come  to  the  inquiry  room, 
but  the  attitude  of  the  college  as  a  whole  is 
largely  one  of  simple  toleration. 

'  I  am  afraid  it  will  be  impossible  for  me  to  come 
up  in  April.  I  expect  Moody  in  my  own  parish, 
where  I  have  long  been  expecting  to  see  some 
work.  I  must  say  I  believe  in  personal  dealing 
more  and  more  every  day,  and  in  the  inadequacy 
of  mere  preaching.  The  inquiry  room  this  time, 
as  before,  brings  its  terrible  revelation  of  the  vast 
multitude  of  unregenerate  church  members.  I 
have  dealt  with  several  men  of  position  who  knew 
the  letter  of  Scripture  as  they  knew  their  own 
names,  but  who  had  no  more  idea  of  Free  Grace 
and  a  Personal  Christ  than  a  Hottentot.' 

<  POSSILPARK,  GLASGOW,  June  8th,  1882. 

'  DEAR  ROBERT, —  ...  I  now  see  things  a  little  clearer, 
but  unfortunately  I  do  not  see  Cults.  Moody,  too, 

1  Then  Free  Church  minister  at  Cults. 


146  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1882 

has  made  me  promise  to  "  hitch  on  to  him,"  as 
he  calls  it,  for  the  summer,  so  that  my  arrange- 
ments are  very  much  taken  out  of  my  own  hands. 
My  only  reserve  is  a  few  weeks  in  July,  which  I 
spend  with  Dods  somewhere  on  the  Continent. 

'  I  had  Moody  in  my  church  last  Sabbath  —  one  of 
the  most  wonderful  meetings  I  ever  saw.  A  crowd 
of  my  own  members  stood  up  at  the  close  and 
asked  to  be  prayed  for,  and  a  number  of  other 
inquirers  waited  to  the  second  meeting.  I  have 
been  following  up  all  week  with  nightly  meetings. 

'  On  Tuesday  night  there  was  a  special  meeting  for 
reformed  drunkards  in  the  City  Hall.  They 
were  admitted  by  special  ticket,  received  on 
formal  application  and  after  cross-examination. 
Over  800  sat  down  to  tea,  of  all  ages  and  ranks. 
Mr.  Moody  presided,  and  a  number  afterwards 
gave  their  testimony :  all  was  most  thrilling  and 
pathetic. 

'Altogether  the  work  has  taken  a  powerful  hold,  and 
immense  numbers  have  been  reached.  I  have 
given  up  my  church.' 

The  Possilpark  Mission,  in  which  Drummond  had 
been  working  hard  for  four  years,  had  prospered. 
There  were  nearly  three  hundred  communicants,  a 
large  Sabbath-school,  a  Young  Men's  Christian  Associ- 
ation, and  various  other  agencies.  A  church  had  been 
built,  costing  nearly  ^4000,  and  it  was  free  of  debt. 
The  General  Assembly  of  1882  raised  the  mission 
to  the  status  of  a  full  charge,  and  Drummond  resigned 
the  missionaryship  in  order  that  an  ordained  minister 
might  be  appointed.  This  set  him  free  to  work  with 
Mr.  Moody  through  the  rest  of  the  summer,  and  in 
October  he  came  back  to  his  college  lectures. 


15x.  30]  SCIENCE  AND   RELIGION  147 

To  Mrs,  Stuart 
'PossiLFARK,  GLASGOW,  December  2Oth,  1882. 

{  Of  myself  I  have  little  to  report.  I  am  growing 
older  and,  as  you  know,  wickeder.  I  was  with 
Moody  all  summer  in  Scotland,  Wales,  and  Eng- 
land. I  have  been  very  busy,  and  have  not  had  a 
holiday  for  a  year  and  a  half.  I  have  also  been 
writing  a  book,  now  in  the  press.  When  I  add 
that  I  am  not  married  yet,  and  as  far  away  from 
it  as  ever,  my  year's  autobiography  is  ended. 

1 1  hope  you  will  see  something  of  Moody  when  he 
is  in  your  neighbourhood  in  the  early  year.  My 
admiration  of  him  has  increased  a  hundredfold. 
I  had  no  idea  before  of  the  moral  size  of  the  man, 
and  I  think  very  few  know  what  he  really  is.' 

A  month  before  his  death  Drummond  said  to  one 
of  his  doctors,  '  Moody  was  the  biggest  human  I  ever 
met.' 

During  the  winter  he  worked  hard  at  the  book,  re- 
writing most  of  it,  and  joined  Moody  again  for  a  little 
when  the  session  was  over. 

To  Mrs.  Stuart 
'PossiLPARK,  GLASGOW,  March  3ist,  1883. 

' .  .  .  The  book  will  not  be  ready  for  two  or  three 
weeks  yet.  I  am  going  to  Liverpool  next  week 
to  work  for  a  short  time  with  Moody.  .  .  .  Moody 
has  asked  me  to  go  to  America  with  him,  but  I 
do  not  think  I  shall  be  tempted.  From  your 
letter  I  see  you  are  afraid  my  book  will  not  be 
orthodox,  but  I  hope  you  will  not  find  this  to  be 
the  case.  I  am  getting  sounder  and  sounder  ! ' 


148  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1883 

The  book  was  the  one  which  made  him  famous, 
Natural  Law  in  the  Spiritual  World.  It  was  not  his 
greatest  work.  Its  main  argument  rests  upon  a  couple 
of  unproved,  and,  in  the  opinion  of  many,  impossible 
assumptions.  And  Drummond  himself  became  dis- 
contented with  it.  But  because  it  made  him  famous, 
and  is  still,  with  many,  the  chief  cause  of  his  reputa- 
tion ;  because  of  the  enormous  circulation  it  achieved, 
the  multitudes  it  helped,  the  wild  hopes  it  raised,  and 
the  bitter  controversy,  —  it  is  right  that  we  should 
form  some  clear  idea  of  how  this  book  began,  and 
what  it  aimed  at  effecting.  Drummond  has  himself 
described  its  origin. 

'  For  four  years,'  as  he  says  in  his  Preface,  he  had 
'  to  address  regularly  two  very  different  audiences 
on  two  very  different  themes.  On  week  days 
I  have  lectured  to  a  class  of  students  on  the 
Natural  Sciences,  and  on  Sundays  to  an  audience 
consisting  for  the  most  part  of  working-men,  on 
subjects  of  a  moral  and  religious  character.  I 
cannot  say  that  this  collocation  ever  appeared  as 
a  difficulty  to  myself,  but  to  certain  of  my  friends 
it  was  more  than  a  problem.  It  was  solved  to  me, 
however,  at  first  by  what  then  seemed  the  necessi- 
ties of  the  case  —  I  must  keep  the  two  depart- 
ments entirely  by  themselves.  They  lay  at 
opposite  poles  of  thought ;  and  for  a  time  I  suc- 
ceeded in  keeping  the  Science  and  the  Religion 
shut  off  from  one  another  in  two  separate  com- 
partments of  my  mind.  But  gradually  the  wall 
of  partition  showed  symptoms  of  giving  way. 
The  two  fountains  of  knowledge  also  slowly  began 
to  overflow,  and  finally  their  waters  met  and 
mingled.  The  great  change  was  in  the  compart- 


Mr.  31]  SCIENCE  AND   RELIGION  149 

ment  which  held  the  Religion.  It  was  not  that 
the  well  there  was  dried ;  still  less  that  the  fer- 
menting waters  were  washed  away  by  the  flood  of 
science.  The  actual  contents  remained  the  same. 
But  the  crystals  of  former  doctrine  were  dissolved; 
and  as  they  precipitated  themselves  once  more  in 
definite  forms,  I  observed  that  the  Crystalline 
System  was  also  changed.  New  channels  also 
for  outward  expression  opened,  and  some  of  the 
old  closed  up ;  and  I  found  the  truth  running  out 
to  my  audience  on  the  Sundays  by  the  week-day 
outlets.  In  other  words,  the  subject-matter  of 
Religion  had  taken  on  the  method  of  expression 
of  Science,  and  I  discovered  myself  enunciating 
Spiritual  Law  in  the  exact  terms  of  Biology  and 
Physics.' 

The  simple  style  of  this  paragraph  masks  a  consid- 
erable vagueness  of  meaning,  and  one  desires  some 
more  explicit  description  of  the  state  of  his  Science 
and  his  Religion  when  he  'kept  them  shut  off  from 
one  another  in  two  separate  compartments  of  his 
mind.'  He  cannot  have  intended  this  to  be  taken 
literally.  For,  since  coming  to  Glasgow,  Drummond's 
eyes  had  been  opened  to  the  great  signs  of  evolution 
within  Scripture1  itself.  And,  on  the  other  side,  he 
was  equally  aware  how  Natural  Science  corroborates 
the  Scriptural  assumption  that  behind  the  visible  uni- 
verse there  is  a  creative  mind.  Although  he  had 
judged  Darwin's  own  teaching  to  be  defective  on  this 
point,2  he  thankfully  acknowledged  that  Science  in 
general  bore  to  it  unmistakable  and  even  lavish  witness. 
To  his  students  he  emphasised  these  mutual  contribu- 

1  We  shall  get  his  opinion  on  this  later  on, 

2  See  above,  p.  47. 


I5O  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1877-83 

tions  of  Religion  and  Science,  and  on  the  last  day  of 
1878  he  wrote  to  one  who  inquired  of  him  what 
Science  had  done  to  corroborate  the  teaching  of  Script- 
ure upon  the  origin  of  life,  as  follows :  — 

To  Hugh  Barbour 

*  I  think  it  is  quite  clear  that  Science  has  gone  as 
far  as  she  ever  will  on  her  side  of  the  border. 
And  she  has  gone  a  wonderful  length  —  towards 
us,  as  I  am  convinced.  The  old  cry,  "  How  far 
Science  has  wandered  away  from  God  (Creator)," 
will  soon  be  entirely  obsolete ;  and  "  How  near 
Science  has  come  to  God  "  will  be  the  watchword 
of  the  most  thoughtful  and  far-seeing.  Instance 
the  argument  of  the  "Unseen  Universe"  in 
toto;  instance  Tyndall's  article  in  the  November 
number  of  the  Nineteenth  Century;  instance  a 
hundred  passages  in  Huxley's  Lay  Sermons  and 
many  other  places. 

'My  Huxley  is  in  Glasgow,  or  I  would  send  you 
reference  to  a  quotation  which  would  surprise 
you  if  you  have  never  seen  it.'1  He  is  describing 
the  development  of  an  ovum.  He  watches  the 
process  through  a  powerful  microscope.  "  Strange 
possibilities  lie  dormant  in  that  semi-fluid  globe. 
Let  a  moderate  supply  of  warmth  reach  its  watery 
cradle,  and  the  plastic  matter  undergoes  changes 
so  rapid,  and  yet  so  steady  and  purposelike  in 
their  succession,  that  we  can  only  compare  them 
to  those  operated  by  a  skilled  operator  on  a  form- 
less lump  of  clay."  He  sees,  as  it  were,  "a  skilled 
modeller"  shaping  the  plastic  mass  with  a  trowel. 
He  sees  "as  if  a  delicate  finger  traced  out  the  line 

1  The  reference  is  to  Lay  Sermons. 


J£T.  26-31]  SCIENCE  AND   RELIGION  I  5  I 

to  be  occupied  by  the  spinal  column,  and  moulded 
the  contour  of  the  body,  pinching  up  the  head  at 
one  end,  the  tail  at  the  other,  and  fashioning  flank 
and  limb  into  due  salamandrine  proportions  in  so 
artistic  a  way  that,  after  watching  the  process  hour 
by  hour,  one  is  almost  involuntarily  possessed  by 
the  notion  that  some  more  subtle  aid  to  vision 
than  an  achromatic  would  show  the  hidden  artist 
with  his  plan  before  him,  striving  with  skilful 
manipulation  to  perfect  his  work."1  The  above 
are  Huxley's  own  words.  That  is  to  say  that 
the  first  biologist  in  Europe  (according  to  Vir- 
chow)  when  he  comes  to  describe  the  develop- 
ment of  life  can  only  do  so  in  Terms  of  Creation. 
This,  of  course,  was  just  what  we  might  have  ex- 
pected, but  I  find  it  very  remarkable  that  our 
anticipation  should  have  been  so  literally  fulfilled 
and  by  such  authority.  The  materialists  have 
never  got  credit  for  this  most  advanced  stand- 
point, and  I  think  it  cannot  be  too  widely  ex- 
plained. Your  desire  evidently  is  to  state  all 
that  Science  can  with  reference  to  the  evolution 
of  living  things.  I  do  not  see  that  they  could 
go  one  step  further  than  Huxley  in  the  passage 
referred  to;  for  the  next  step  would  be  God.' 

Drummond,  therefore,  was  never  troubled  by  any 
fears  that  Science  would  contradict  the  fundamental 
postulates  of  the  Bible  on  the  field  of  the  natural  uni- 
verse on  which  Science  worked;  and  he  already  rec- 
ognised, within  the  historical  origins  of  the  Christian 
religion,  the  same  method  of  evolution  at  work  as 
Science  had  recently  revealed  in  the  growth  of  physical 

1  In  Drummond's  letter  the  quotation,  written  from  memory,  is  not  given,  of 
course,  so  fully  or  accurately. 


152  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1883 

life.  What,  then,  did  he  mean  by  saying  that  he  'kept 
Religion  and  Science  shut  off  from  one  another  in  two 
different  compartments  of  his  mind'?  In  these  words 
he  was  speaking  of  religion  as  the  experience  of  the 
individual  —  conversion,  regeneration,  the  growth  of 
character,  the  assurance  of  immortality — the  phenom- 
ena, in  short,  with  which  he  himself  had  been  practi- 
cally busied  in  hundreds  of  lives  during  the  last  ten 
years.  This  set  of  facts,  comprising  the  religious  life 
of  the  individual,  was  what  he  had  kept  in  one  com- 
partment of  his  mind,  while  the  other  was  filled  with 
the  facts  of  physical  life.  By  'keeping  them  apart,' 
he  did  not,  of  course,  mean  that  the  religious  facts  had 
not  their  laws,  as  the  physical  had  theirs,  for  Drum- 
mond  had  never  treated  religion  in  the  manner  of  cer- 
tain preachers,  as  if  it  were  utterly  without  the  great 
laws  of  life,  a  moral-less  magic  of  arbitrary  formulas, 
expedients,  and  even  dodges.  But  he  meant  that  the 
laws  which  are  visible  in  the  phenomena  of  the  indi- 
vidual's experience  of  religion  were  at  first  felt  by  him 
to  be  different  from,  and  without  the  slightest  resem- 
blance or  relevance  to,  the  laws  which  are  visible  in 
the  phenomena  of  physical  life.  But  a  teacher  who 
teaches  in  parallel  lines  two  different  subjects  of  human 
knowledge  cannot  help,  sooner  or  later,  stating  the  one 
in  terms  of  the  other;  and  this,  of  course,  happened 
in  Drummond's  case  the  more  easily  that  teachers  of 
religion  had  from  the  very  first  perceived  analogies  or 
resemblances  between  spiritual  and  physical  phenom- 
ena, and  that  some  of  the  greatest  of  them  had  even 
conceived  of  Nature  as  therefore  sacramental  —  the  de- 
signed mirror  or  symbol  of  religious  truth.  No  one, 
however,  had  proposed  as  yet  to  define  these  compari- 
sons between  the  two  sets  of  laws  in  more  stringent 
terms  than  those  of  analogy  and  sacrament.  Drum- 


&T.  31]  SCIENCE  AND   RELIGION  153 

mond  went  farther,  and  with  great  boldness — whether 
rightly  or  wrongly  we  shall  inquire  afterwards  —  as- 
serted the  two  sets  of  laws  to  be  identical. 

Perhaps  this  is  the  best  place  at  which  to  introduce 
a  very  curious  story  concerning  a  similar  suggestion 
made  by  Drummond's  grandfather,  William  Drum- 
mond,  who  died  in  1824.  It  is  told  by  Henry's 
brother-in-law,  the  Rev.  Thomas  Crerar :  '  I  was  with 
Henry  after  his  father's  death l  in  Glenelm,  when  we 
found  among  his  father's  papers  a  note-book  of  his 
father,  the  old  William  Drummond,  in  which  he  had 
some  reflections  on  religious  matters.  I  think  the  old 
man  wrote,  after  noting  some  facts  in  the  Spiritual 
and  the  Natural  Life :  "  Would  it  not  be  strange  if  it 
turned  out  that  the  laws  of  Nature  and  of  the  Spirit- 
ual World  were  the  same  ? "  and  Henry  remarked  to 
me :  "How  strange !  That  is  just  my  idea  as  ex- 
pressed in  Natural  Law.  Can  there  be  an  inherited 
idea  as  well  as  an  inherited  tendency?"  —  or  words  to 
that  effect.' 

Drummond,  then,  asserted  that  the  laws  governing 
both  spheres  were  identical.  But  he  insisted  that  he 
arrived  at  this  position  by  the  inductive  method;  that 
first  of  all  he  awoke  to  the  actual  presence  of  certain 
natural  laws  in  one  department  after  another  of  the 
spiritual  life  —  regeneration,  growth,  degeneration,  and 
so  forth.  This  he  emphasised  again  and  again.  He 
had  not  first  supposed  his  theory,  and  then  tried  if  the 
facts  would  fit  it;  but  he  had  first  encountered  the 
facts,  gradually  recognised  their  significance,  and  then 
deduced  his  general  principle  from  them.  His  method, 
in  short,  had  been  the  a  posteriori.  But  having  thus 
reached  his  conclusions,  he  had  found  for  them 
the  corroboration  of  an  a  priori  argument  in  the 

1  January  i,  1888. 


154  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1883 

scientific  principle  of  Continuity.  Scientific  writers 
had  recently  emphasised  the  Continuity  of  Law  in  the 
Physical  Universe.  Was  it  not  probable,  Drummond 
asked,  that  this  continuity  should  extend  still  farther, 
and  cover  the  spiritual  world  as  well  ?  Drummond 
thought  that  the  affirmative  reply  to  such  a  question 
was  obvious. 

It  is  not  within  the  province  of  a  biographer  to  ex- 
pound in  detail,  still  less  to  criticise,  the  writings 
of  the  man  whose  life  he  is  portraying;  yet,  if  for 
nothing  else  than  to  point  out  the  direction  in  which 
Drummond  —  who  was  far  bigger  than  all  his  books 
—  grew  away  from  the  positions  which  he  so  con- 
fidently occupied  in  the  first  of  them,  it  is  necessary 
that  we  should  here  indicate  the  two  unproved  —  and 
most  people  will  think  impossible  —  assumptions  by 
which  he  reached  his  famous  conclusion  of  the  opera- 
tion of  natural  law  in  the  spiritual  life.  In  the  first 
place,  Drummond's  a  priori  argument  from  the  prin- 
ciple of  Continuity  was  a  huge  petitio  principii.  It 
does  not  necessarily,  nor  even  probably,  follow  that 
because  laws  have  a  certain  continuity  throughout 
the  physical  universe  they  must  also  prevail  in  the 
spiritual  experience  of  man.  Drummond  maintains, 
indeed,  that  the  principle  of  Continuity  is  so  well  es- 
tablished that  the  burden  of  the  disproof  of  its  exten- 
sion to  spiritual  life  remains  with  those  who  deny  this. 
Emphatically  this  is  not  true.  The  gulf  is  so  great 
between  matter  and  mind,  the  respective  contents  of 
the  two  spheres  are  so  very  different,  that  the  burden 
of  proof  in  the  question  of  a  continuity  of  Law  between 
the  two  rather  lies  with  him  who  maintains  the  affirm- 
ative. Drummond  has  simply  begged  the  question ; 
and  since,  as  he  himself  points  out,  laws  are  not  inde- 
pendent substances,  but  forms  or  conditions  by  which 


/Ex.  31]  SCIENCE  AND   RELIGION  155 

the  actions  of  forces  are  invariably  governed,  the  fact 
that  the  forces  of  the  spirit  life  are  different  from 
those  of  the  physical  life  makes  the  presupposition 
very  strong  that,  though  the  Lawgiver  be  the  same, 
the  laws  in  the  two  spheres  are  equally  different. 

And  this  leads  us  to  his  other  unproved  assump- 
tion ;  that,  namely,  in  the  inductive  portion  of  his 
reasoning.  In  his  belief  that  he  had  discovered  some 
laws  of  biology  in  the  religious  experience  of  the  indi- 
vidual, Drummond  was  apparently  fascinated  by  the 
use  of  the  term  life,  to  describe  the  phenomena  in 
both  departments,  without  pausing  to  inquire  whether 
the  two  kinds  of  life  had  anything  more  than  the 
name  in  common  with  each  other.  Had  he  entered 
upon  this  inquiry,  he  must  have  made  it  obvious  (as 
indeed  it  afterwards  became  to  his  own  mind)  that 
spiritual  life  contained  elements,  and  was  realised  in 
conditions,  so  foreign  to  physical  life,  that  the  identity 
of  the  laws  governing  the  phenomena  of  both  might 
be  reasonably  regarded  as  an  impossibility.  This  fun- 
damental objection  to  his  argument  has  been  stated  by 
many  of  his  critics,  but  by  none  better  than  by  the 
author  of  On  ''Natural  Law  in  the  Spiritual  World] 
by  '  a  Brother  of  the  Natural  Man,'  who,  it  is  no  harm 
now  to  state,  is  the  Rev.  Professor  Denney.  He  says,1 
'  We  find  that  natural  life  comes  from  preexisting 
natural  life  —  according,  we  must  add,  to  a  certain 
law,  a  law  of  necessary  physical  determination ;  and 
we  find  that  spiritual  life  comes  from  preexisting  spir- 
itual life  —  according,  we  must  add  again,  to  another 
law,  a  law  of  free  moral  determination  in  correspond- 
ence with  the  idea  of  that  life;  and  these  two  laws 
are  quite  different.  What  is  more,  till  we  appreciate 
the  difference,  we  are  not  within  sight  of  the  spiritual 

i  p.  1. 


156  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1883 

world.  From  this  point  of  view,  which  also  takes  in 
the  whole  complexity  of  the  spiritual  facts,  we  can  see 
the  error  and  irrelevancy  of  much  of  Mr.  Drummond's 
preface  and  introduction.'  And,  it  may  be  added,  it  is 
from  this  point  of  view  also  that  we  can  appreciate 
the  defects  of  the  body  of  the  book :  the  illustrations 
of  the  working  of  natural  laws  in  several  departments 
of  the  spiritual  life.  The  want  of  the  volume  is  the 
want  of  regard  for  the  moral  character  of  religious 
experience.  The  spiritual  life  which  the  various  chap- 
ters describe  is  one  perilously  near  sheer  passivity :  in 
its  beginnings  as  independent  of  responsibility  on  the 
part  of  those  who  receive  it  as  their  physical  life  is, 
and  in  its  continuance  as  destitute  of  the  elements 
of  effort  and  struggle.  Take  the  beautiful  chapter  on 
Growth,  one  of  the  most  justly  admired  in  the  book. 
It  inculcates  the  advice  not  to  try  to  grow  spiritually, 
but  to  leave  one's  growth,  first,  to  the  power  of  the 
Spirit,  and,  second,  to  the  effect  of  a  good  environment. 
And,  in  support  of  this  advice,  it  quotes  our  Lord's  call 
to  consider  the  lilies  of  the  field  how  they  grow :  they 
toil  not  neither  do  they  spin.  But  Drummond  forgot 
that  in  this  part  of  His  discourse  our  Lord  was  speak- 
ing, not  of  our  spiritual  struggles  after  character,  and 
perfect  obedience  to  the  Will  of  God,  but  of  our 
physical  anxieties  and  labours  for  our  daily  bread. 
Christ's  own  spiritual  life  was  full  of  moral  effort,  yea, 
to  the  pitch  of  agony;  and  so  it  has  been  with  the 
lives  of  all  the  greatest  saints.  This  defect  of  the  book 
has  another  as  its  consequence.  Drummond  denies 
that  the  man  who  'by  hard  work  and  self-restraint 
attains  to  a  very  high  character'  is  really  growing.1 
According  to  him,  the  unregenerate  man  is  in  the  same 
relation  to  the  regenerate  as  the  inorganic  in  the 

1  Twenty-fourth  edition,  p.  131. 


fix.  31]  SCIENCE  AND   RELIGION  157 

physical  world  is  to  the  organic,  as  a  stone  is  to  a  plant. 
And  this  leads  him  to  a  further  assertion,  which  com- 
pletely ignores  the  moral  identity  of  the  individual  be- 
fore and  after  conversion.  '  The  plant  stretches  down 
to  the  dead  world  beneath  it,  touches  its  minerals  and 
gases  with  its  mystery  of  life,  and  brings  them  up  en- 
nobled to  the  living  sphere.  The  breath  of  God,  blow- 
ing where  it  listeth,  touches  with  its  mystery  of  life  the 
dead  souls  of  men,  bears  them  across  the  bridgeless 
gulf  between  the  natural  and  the  spiritual,  between 
the  spiritually  inorganic  and  the  spiritually  organic, 
endows  them  with  its  own  high  qualities,  and  devel- 
ops within  them  those  new  and  secret  faculties  by 
which  those  who  are  born  again  are  said  to  see  the 
Kingdom  of  God.'  But  the  man  before  and  after  his 
conversion  is  the  same  man,  with  a  continuance  of 
consciousness  and  will  which  are  certainly  absent  in 
the  other  case.  The  identity  or  analogy  breaks  down 
at  the  vital  point.1  In  short,  this  omission  of  all  regard 
for  the  moral  distinctions  of  the  spiritual  life  is  so  fun- 
damental, that  its  effects  are  seen  almost  everywhere 
throughout  the  book.  Drummond  himself  came  to 
recognise  this.  Some  years  afterwards,  I  think  about 
1890,  he  said:  '  I  would  write  the  book  differently  if  I 
were  to  do  it  again.  I  should  make  less  rigid  applica- 
tion of  physical  laws,  and  I  should  endeavour  to  be 
more  ethical ;  and  this  I  have  stated  in  a  new  trans- 
lation of  the  book  in  Germany.'  Yes;  but  he  did 
not  even  then  see  that  to  introduce  those  ethical 
elements  which  had  been  so  conspicuously  absent 
from  his  volume  would  be  to  destroy  its  primary 
argument  that  natural  law  still  prevailed  where  those 
elements  predominate,  for  he  immediately  added : 

1  This  is  finely  put  in  On  '  Natural  Law  in  the  Spiritual  World,1  by '  a  Brother 
of  the  Natural  Man,'  p.  35. 


158  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1881-82 

'  But  it  is  still  clear  to  me  that  the  same  laws  govern 
all  worlds.' 

The  introduction,  into  which  these  fallacies  mainly 
enter,  was  not  given  by  Drummond  to  his  Possilpark 
audiences  of  working-men,  nor  indeed  was  its  thesis 
formulated  till  after  his  work  in  Possilpark  was  closed. 
It  is  a  far  more  welcome  task  to  turn  to  the  great  vir- 
tues of  the  addresses  themselves.  Their  analysis  and 
orderly  arrangement  of  the  facts  of  Christian  experi- 
ence ;  their  emphasis  upon  the  government  of  the  re- 
ligious life  by  law;  their  exposure  of  formalism  and 
insincerity,  conscious  and  unconscious,  in  the  fashion- 
able religion  of  the  day;  their  revelation  of  life  in 
Christ;  their  enthusiasm;  their  powers  of  practical 
counsel  and  of  comfort ;  and  their  atmosphere  of 
beauty  and  of  peace,  —  must  have  made  these  ad- 
dresses to  the  hundreds  who  heard  them,  as  afterwards 
to  the  hundreds  of  thousands  whom  they  reached  in  the 
volume,  an  inspiration  and  a  discipline  of  inestimable 
value.  But  these  aspects  of  the  book  we  may  postpone 
till  we  come  to  treat  of  its  wonderful  reception  by  the 
public;  and  here  need  only  state  that  they  have  an 
enduring  value  which  not  even  the  fallacies  of  the  in- 
troduction to  them  can  wholly  destroy.  What  Drum- 
mond would  have  done  with  the  volume  had  he  lived 
is  quite  uncertain.  But  a  month  or  two  before  his 
death,  when  he  said  that  he  wished  it  withdrawn  from 
circulation,  a  friend  answered,  '  Remember  the  reli- 
gious good  which  it  has  done,  and  is  still  doing,  to 
multitudes  who  either  never  read  the  introduction,  or 
do  not  concern  themselves  with  the  philosophic  ques- 
tions it  raises.'  This  friend  might  have  added  that 
the  effort  of  the  book  to  reduce  the  phenomena  of  the 
Christian  life  to  reasonable  processes  under  laws  — 
whether  or  not  these  laws  were  what  the  volume 


^T.  30]  SCIENCE  AND   RELIGION  159 

alleges  them  to  be  —  constitutes  of  itself  a  valuable 
contribution  to  religion. 

At  the  time  he  gave  his  '  talks  to  working-men,'  as 
he  called  them,  Drummond  had  'not  intended  to 
make  a  book  out  of  them.'  But  the  editor  of  the  Cler- 
ical World,  a  London  periodical  no  longer  in  exist- 
ence, asked  him  for  a  contribution. 


'  I  had  never  published  anything  before,  and  it  was 
only  after  a  second  appeal  that  I  resuscitated 
some  faded  lectures,  which  once  had  voices  for  a 
local  public,  but  which  with  other  "dried  tongues  " 
had  been  long  since  packed  away  in  a  forgotten 
drawer.  These  papers,  which  are  now  reprinted 
almost  as  they  stood  in  Natural  Law,  passed 
through  many  vicissitudes,  as  I  shall  relate,  be- 
fore they  became  a  book,  but  in  connection  with 
this  reference  to  their  origin  I  may  answer  a  ques- 
tion. I  am  asked :  Were  these  papers,  or  are  such 
papers,  even  with  the  addition  of  viva  voce  expla- 
nations, not  above  the  people  ?  I  can  only  say  I 
did  not  find  it  so.  My  conviction,  indeed,  grows 
stronger  every  day  that  the  masses  require  and 
deserve  the  very  best  work  we  have.  The  crime 
of  evangelism  is  laziness ;  and  the  failure  of  the 
average  mission  church  to  reach  intelligent  work- 
ing-men rises  from  the  indolent  reiteration  of 
threadbare  formulae  by  teachers,  often  competent 
enough,  who  have  not  first  learned  to  respect  their 
hearers.' 

The  papers  were  five  in  number:  'Degeneration,' 
which  was  published  on  September  28,  1881 ;  '  Biogen- 
esis,' on  November  30 ;  '  Nature  abhors  a  Vacuum,' 


I6O  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1882 

founded  largely  on  Paul's  words,  Be  not  drunk  with 
wine,  but  be  filled  with  the  Spirit  (these  did  not  ap- 
pear in  the  volume) ;  and  two  on  '  Semi-Parasitisrn,' 
which  appeared  in  1882. 

'  Though  printed  almost  verbatim  as  they  now 
stand,  no  one,  I  then  thought,  seems  to  have 
read  the  papers  in  their  fugitive  form.  Pres- 
ently the  journal  which  published  them  died, 
leaving  in  my  mind  a  lingering  remorse  at  what 
share  I  might  have  had  in  its  untimely  end.  To 
give  continuity  to  the  series,  and  as  a  title  under 
which  to  publish  them,  I  had  given  the  editor  the 
phrase  "  Natural  Law  in  the  Spiritual  World." 
At  that  time  I  had  not  thought  much  as  to  what 
this  title  actually  meant.  The  few  laws  which 
formed  the  theme  of  the  papers  certainly  seemed 
common  to  both  the  natural  and  the  spiritual 
spheres ;  but  it  did  not  occur  to  me  to  regard  this 
as  a  general  principle.  I  mention  this  to  show 
that  the  principle  came  to  me  through  its  appli- 
cations, not  vice  versa.  ...  I  am  well  aware 
that  many  see  no  such  thread  binding  Nature 
and  Grace.  Others  not  only  see  no  thread,  but 
see  no  use  in  one.  I  can  only  say  that  for  me 
there  is  no  alternative  but  to  see  it ;  that  I  saw 
it  before  I  knew  what  it  was,  and  that  if  this  were 
taken  away  much  of  the  solidity  of  religion  would 
go  with  it. 

'  Now,  a  thing  that  we  cannot  help  seeing  must 
either  be  really  there,  or  one's  vision  must  have 
some  constitutional  defect.  To  test  this  I  wrote 
out  the  rough  sketch  of  the  principle  which  now 
forms  the  introduction  to  Natural  Law  and  sub- 
mitted it  to  a  small  club,  which  met  for  the  dis- 


JET.  30]  SCIENCE  AND   RELIGION  l6l 

cussion  especially  of  theological  subjects.1  With 
one  dissenting  voice,  it  was  unanimously  con- 
demned. Some  of  the  criticisms  were  just  and 
helpful,  and  others  mercilessly  severe.  One 
pleasantry  I  remember  as  especially  discouraging, 
for  its  source  compelled  me  to  treat  it  with  respect. 
The  essay,  said  this  candid  friend,  reminded  him 
of  a  pamphlet  he  had  once  picked  up,  entitled, 
"  Forty  Reasons  for  the  Identification  of  the 
English  People  with  the  Lost  Ten  Tribes." 

1  But  for  two  things  I  should  have  received  this 
verdict  as  final,  and  abandoned  my  heresies  for- 
ever. The  first  was  the  one  dissenting  voice. 
But  for  its  encouragement  at  the  outset,  my  book 
had  never  been  begun,  and  without  its  ceaseless 
assistance  afterwards,  it  would  never  have  been 
carried  through.  .  .  .  The  second  was  that  I 
remembered  that  the  membership  of  the  afore- 
said club  consisted  almost  exclusively  of  men 
who  worked  from  the  philosophical,  rather  than 
from  the  scientific,  standpoint.  My  own  point 
of  view  being  exclusively  the  latter,  I  imagined 
that,  in  many  particulars,  we  might  have  been 
working  at  cross  purposes.  .  .  . 

'  After  this  misadventure  there  remained  in  my 
mind  the  desire  to  submit  the  essay,  if  only  for 
my  own  satisfaction,  to  a  more  public  criticism. 
About  this  time,  also,  I  received  a  letter  from  an 
orphanage2  in  England,  asking  permission  to 

1  Glasgow  Theological  Club,  'January  9,  1882,  at  5  Ashton  Terrace.    Paper  by 
Mr.  Drummond  on  "  Natural  Law  in  the  Spiritual  Sphere." ' 

2  The  request  came  from  Mr.  Newman,  a  member  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  in 
the  interest  of  a    Home  for   Orphans  at  Leominster.     The  tract  was   entitled 
' Natural  Law  in  the  Spiritual  World.     Degeneration  —  "If  We  Neglect"   by 
Henry  Drummond,  F.R.S.E.,  F.G.S.,  Leominster :  printed  at  the  Orphans'  Print- 
ing Press.     Price,  id. ;   6s.  per  IOO.'      Drummond  used  to  call  Mr.  Newman  his 
'  guiding  star.' 


1 62  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1882-83 

republish  as  a  booklet  one  of  the  papers  which 
had  already  appeared.  The  printing,  I  gathered, 
was  to  be  done  by  the  orphans  themselves,  and 
the  proceeds  were  to  go  to  the  institution.  What 
the  orphans  could  want  with  this  paper,  except 
to  practise  printing  long  words  on,  I  could  not 
imagine ;  but,  as  they  had  no  parents,  I  over- 
looked the  eccentricity  and  consented.  Whether 
the  orphans  had  ever  made  anything  by  it,  I 
never  knew;  but  presently  letters  dropped  in 
from  unknown  correspondents,  telling  me  that  in 
another  sense  the  paper  had  done  some  good. 
This  decided  me  at  once.  The  world  did  not 
need  being  made  wiser,  but  if  there  was  the  chance 
of  helping  any  one  a  little  practically,  that  was  a 
thing  to  be  done.  In  a  rash  hour,  therefore,  I 
addressed  the  introduction,  along  with  some  of 
the  "  Natural  Law  "  papers,  to  a  leading  London 
publisher.  In  three  weeks  the  manuscript,  as  I 
wholly  expected,  came  back  "declined  with 
thanks."  A  slight  change  was  made,  and  a 
second  application  to  another  well-known  London 
house ;  and  again  the  document  was  returned  with 
the  same  mystic  legend  —  the  gentlest  yet  most 
inexorable  of  sentences  —  inscribed  upon  its  back. 
To  be  served  a  second  time  with  the  Black  Seal 
of  Literature  was  too  much  for  me,  and  the 
doomed  sheets  were  returned  to  their  pigeon- 
holes and  once  more  forgotten.  I  suppose  most 
men  have  a  condemned  cell  in  their  escritoire. 
For  their  consolation,  let  me  tell  them  further 
how  at  least  one  convicted  felon  escaped. 
'  Time  had  gone,  when  one  day,  passing  through 
London  on  returning  from  a  Continental  tour,  I 
happened  along  Paternoster  Row.  I  encountered 


.  31]  SCIENCE  AND   RELIGION  163 

Mr.  M.  H.  Hodder  of  Messrs.  Hodder  and 
Stoughton.  In  the  course  of  conversation  he 
made  a  sudden  reference  to  my  ill-starred  papers. 
My  guilty  secret,  alas,  was  known!  By  the  treach- 
ery of  the  other  publishers,  I  was  already  the 
laughing-stock  of  the  Row  —  the  whole  trade  had 
been  warned  against  me.  But  I  was  wrong. 
This  most  guileless  and  indulgent  of  publishers 
knew  nothing!  He  had  seen  the  papers  in  their 
earlier  form,  and  was  merely  sounding  their 
abashed  author  with  a  view  to  a  possible  reprint. 
I  was  honest  enough,  in  the  light  of  previous 
tragedies,  to  commit  neither  him  nor  myself,  but 
promised  to  exhume  the  manuscript  for  his  further 
consideration.  From  this  interview  I  learned 
one  lesson  —  that  the  search  for  a  publisher  is  a 
mistake.  The  right  way  is  to  let  the  publisher 
search  for  the  author. 

'  The  next  step  was  to  hold  a  post  mortem  examina- 
tion on  my  Rejected  Addresses.  I  found  mortal 
wounds  in  one  or  two  of  the  papers,  but  the  few 
which  seemed  most  fit  for  resuscitation  were  for- 
warded as  a  first  instalment  to  the  publisher.  .  .  . 
I  would  have  given  anything  just  then  to  have 
gained  time,  for  nearly  half  my  remaining  material 
was  useless.  ...  I  set  to  work  replacing  the  most 
decayed  of  the  papers  with  new  ones,  and  these 
were  literally  written,  I  believe,  like  most  literary 
work  —  with  the  printer's  demon  waiting  at  my 
elbow.  The  subjects  were  chosen  as  I  went 
along,  and,  as  the  printer  was  exasperatingly 
punctual,  they  received  the  barest  possible  justice. 
.  .  .  Owing  to  the  lengthened  interval  between 
the  writing  of  one  paper  and  another,  consistency 
was  almost  impossible.  I  was  careful  in  the 


164  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1882-83 

Preface  to  point  out  the  unsystematic  nature  of 
the  book  and  the  almost  haphazard  arrange- 
ment of  the  papers ;  in  point  of  fact,  it  was  little 
more  than  the  printer's  necessity  of  paging ;  but, 
in  spite  of  all  protest,  some  of  my  critics  have 
wandered  through  these  disjecta  membra  in  search 
of  a  philosophic  or  theological  system,  and  have 
come  back  laden  with  spoil  of  every  description 
to  confound  and  discomfit  the  illogical  author.' 

But  for  a  long  time  Drummond  was  out  of  reach 
of  his  critics. 

1 A  few  days  after  the  publication  of  Natural  Law 
and  before  it  had  reached  the  booksellers'  shelves, 
I  was  steaming  down  the  Red  Sea  en  route  for 
the  heart  of  Africa.' 


CHAPTER   VII 

DIARIES  OF  TRAVEL.  — I.   THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS 

The   Yellowstone:    Canyons,   Geysers,  Antelopes,   and 

Beavers 

HENRY  DRUMMOND  made  three  expeditions  to  dis- 
tant and  at  the  time  little  known  parts  of  the  earth,  — 
the  first,  in  1879,  to  the  Rocky  Mountains;  the  second, 
in  1883-84,  to  Central  Africa;  and  the  third,  in  the 
summer  of  1891,  to  the  New  Hebrides.  We  may 
take  the  first  of  these  in  this  chapter. 

The  expedition  to  the  Rocky  Mountains  was  a 
geological  one,  and  Drummond  joined  it  on  the  invi- 
tation of  Sir  Archibald  (then  Professor)  Geikie,  who 
sends  the  following  reminiscences  leading  up  to  it:  — 

'  My  first  acquaintance  with  Henry  Drummond 
began  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  winter  session  of  1871-72.  The 
Chair  of  Geology  and  Mineralogy  had  then  recently 
been  founded  there  by  Sir  Roderick  Murchison,  in 
conjunction  with  the  Crown,  and  at  his  request  I  had 
been  appointed  Professor.  At  the  end  of  my  opening 
lecture,  the  first  student  who  came  to  my  retiring 
room  to  be  enrolled  as  a  member  of  the  class  was 
Drummond.  I  well  remember  his  frank,  open  face 
and  the  gentle  timidity  of  his  manner  as  he  gave  in 
his  name.  The  instinctive  impression  of  that  first 
interview  was  deepened  by  further  intercourse  with 
him.  During  the  session  frequent  excursions  were 

165 


1 66  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1879 

made  to  places  of  geological  interest  around  Edin- 
burgh, and  these  rambles  afforded  excellent  oppor- 
tunities for  the  teacher  and  the  students  to  become 
personally  acquainted  with  each  other.  I  soon  recog- 
nised the  earnest  enthusiasm  and  remarkable  capacity 
of  the  young  man  who  had  been  the  first  to  join  me. 
He  was  conspicuous  by  his  zeal  in  the  field,  and  he 
took  a  good  place  in  the  periodical  examinations, 
finally  coming  out  in  the  first  class.  At  the  end  of 
each  session  I  used  to  take  my  students  for  a  longer 
excursion  to  some  more  distant  part  of  Scotland, 
where  we  spent  ten  days  or  so  in  constant  field  work. 
The  first  of  these  most  enjoyable  trips  was  devoted  to 
the  isle  of  Arran.  Drummond  was  one  of  the  party, 
and  I  remember  being  struck  with  his  feeling  for  the 
beauty  of  natural  scenery  and  the  meditative  look  that 
often  marked  his  features  when  we  sat  down  on  some 
rock  or  hillside  to  rest  and  enjoy  the  landscape. 

'  In  later  years,  though  no  longer  in  my  class,  he 
used  to  come  occasionally  to  the  field  excursions,  and 
I  was  delighted  to  have  these  opportunities  of  enjoy- 
ing a  closer  acquaintance  with  him.  He  had  entirely 
won  my  affectionate  regard,  and  I  think  he  felt  this 
himself,  for  he  often  came  to  consult  me  as  to  his 
career  at  college.  In  the  year  1879  I  planned  an 
expedition  into  Western  North  America  for  the  pur- 
pose more  particularly  of  studying  the  volcanic  phe- 
nomena displayed  on  so  wonderful  a  scale  in  that 
region.  Desiring  a  companion,  I  at  once  turned  to 
my  favourite  pupil,  and  found  him  willing  to  join  me.' 

The  invitation  was  given  in  June,  and  Drummond 
had  a  month  for  preparation.  Letters  to  Professor 
Geikie  discuss  their  equipment,  and  the  risks  the 
expedition  might  run  from  the  unsettled  condition  of 
the  Indians  in  the  Rocky  Mountains:  — 


yET.  28]  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS  167 

To  Professor  Geikie 

*  POSSILPARK,  GLASGOW,  July  3d,  1879. 

' .  .  .  I  see  from  Reuler's  telegram  of  last  night  that 
the  Indians  are  at  war  among  themselves  on  the 
Canadian  frontier.  This  will  probably  drain  the 
south  of  Montana,  and  leave  the  Yellowstone 
clear.  The  reports  in  the  Field  lately  have  been 
also  more  encouraging.' 

Professor  Geikie  and  Henry  Drummond  sailed  for 
America  on  the  3ist  of  July,  and  after  a  few  pre- 
liminary arrangements  in  the  Eastern  States,  they 
travelled  straight  to  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Drum- 
mond used  to  speak  of  the  great  generosity  of  the 
United  States  Government,  which  on  the  request  of 
Professor  Hayden,  then  at  the  head  of  the  Geological 
Survey,  provided  these  British  geologists  with  an 
escort  of  soldiers,  their  needful  equipage  and  supplies, 
and  introductions  to  the  various  military  posts  in 
Indian  territory. 

To  His  Mother 

<FORT  BRIDGER,  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS,  Thursday,  Aug.  21,  1879. 

'  MY  DEAR  MOTHER,  —  At  last  we  are  in  the  heart  of 
the  mountains,  and  very  comfortably  quartered, 
with  a  famous  man  in  these  parts,  Judge  Carter, 
to  whom  Geikie  had  introductions.  We  make 
his  house  our  home  for  a  couple  of  nights,  and 
go  cruising  among  the  mountains  during  the 
day.  Then  we  go  off  for  a  few  days'  camping, 
and  return  here  for  a  night  next  week  on  our 
way  further  west,  and  north  to  the  Yellowstone. 
Judge  Carter  lives  in  a  desert  in  an  old  fort 


1 68  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1879 

which  was  occupied  until  May  the  year  before 
last  by  a  post  of  soldiery  for  protection  against 
the  Indians.  The  Indians  are  quiet,  and  the  fort 
has  been  abandoned,  but  "  the  Judge "  and  his 
cattlemen  occupy  it  as  a  kind  of  farm  and  store. 
The  fort  is  simply  a  collection  of  huts  of  wood, 
but  everything  is  very  comfortable.  We  shall  be 
fitted  out  with  waggon,  and  riding  horses,  and 
baggage  animals  for  our  camp  by  the  Judge, 
which  will  be  a  great  saving  both  of  trouble  and 
money.  At  present  we  are  some  seven  thousand 
feet  above  sea  level,  and  the  climate  is  simply 
perfect.  .  .  . 

'  On  Monday  rather  a  curious  thing  happened.  We 
were  at  a  place  called  Boulder,  in  Colorado,  in  a 
new  gold-mining  district  right  up  among  the 
mountains.  As  I  was  standing  at  the  hotel  door 
a  man  came  up,  and  in  an  excited  way  asked  the 
landlord  if  he  knew  where  any  minister  lived,  as 
a  miner  had  died  ten  miles  off  in  a  lonely  canyon 
(deep  valley),  and  his  mates  had  subscribed  to 
bury  him,  and  had  sent  him  in  to  try  and  find  a 
minister.  He  had  already  called  on  one,  but  he 
was  from  home.  I  told  him  if  he  could  not  find 
one  anywhere  he  might  come  back  to  the  hotel 
for  me  and  I  would  go.  In  an  hour  he  returned 
saying  he  had  searched  far  and  near,  and  could 
find  no  one.  I  had  my  tweeds  on,  but  ran  to  a 
store,  and  fortunately  found  a  white  tie,  which 
gave  one  quite  a  sufficiently  professional  look  for 
the  mountains.  We  drove  ten  miles  in  a  two- 
mule  buggy  through  one  of  the  most  wonderful 
glens  I  have  ever  seen.  On  reaching  the  mining 
settlement  I  found  the  whole  camp  turned  out. 
It  was  the  first  death  in  the  camp,  and  evidently 


JEr.  28]  THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS  169 

it  was  no  common  occasion  to  the  gold-diggers. 
Not  a  stroke  of  work  had  been  done  all  day.  All 
were  dressed  in  their  best,  and  the  whole  popula- 
tion of  the  district,  men,  women,  and  children, 
were  turned  out  to  attend  the  funeral.  We  got 
the  coffin  put  in  the  buggy,  and  the  whole  party 
proceeded  up  to  a  little  chapel  of  wood,  which 
had  been  built  for  any  occasional  service.  A  har- 
monium was  there,  and  a  choir  of  the  miners' 
daughters  all  ready  to  sing  our  hymns.  I  found 
I  was  expected  to  make  an  "oration,"  as  they 
called  it,  and  as  the  chapel  was  crammed  to  the 
door  I  had  one  of  the  best  audiences  I  have  ever 
seen  in  my  life.  The  diggers  are  a  very  rough 
lot — kindly,  brave,  but  wild  and  lawless — and  I 
suppose  few  of  them  had  ever  been  in  that  chapel 
before.  All  were  emigrants  who  had  come  to 
seek  their  fortunes  —  some  from  the  far  East, 
some  from  Germany,  some  from  England,  and 
two  young  fellows  with  whom  I  spoke  were  from 
Glasgow.  The  man  who  had  died  was  an  Eng- 
lishman. They  listened  with  profound  attention, 
and  when  the  service  was  over  they  slowly  filed 
past  the  open  coffin,  and  took  a  last  look  at  the 
dead.  At  last  all  were  gone  but  one,  a  genuine 
rough  specimen,  who  looked  all  round  to  see  if  we 
were  alone,  then  bowed  his  face  in  his  hands,  and 
wept  like  a  child.  He  was  the  dead  man's  mate. 
'  The  grave  was  far  up  the  valley,  as  there  was  noth- 
ing here  but  the  solid  granite.  The  procession 
formed  once  more,  and  when  we  reached  the  spot 
the  miners  begged  for  another  service.  This  was 
gladly  granted,  and  I  hope  I  did  not  lose  so 
golden  an  opportunity.  It  may  be  years  before 
there  is  another  service  in  that  camp,  as  it  is  one 


I7O  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1879 

of  the  loneliest  inhabited  spots  on  earth.  Before 
I  came  home  they  gave  me  tea,  and  loaded  me 
with  specimens  of  gold.' 

On  the  2d  of  September  the  friends  left  Fort  Ellis 
in  Gallatin  County,  Montana,  driving  southwards,  and 
by  the  way  shooting  grouse  and  prairie-dogs  and  fish- 
ing for  trout.  In  the  afternoon  they  entered  the 
Yellowstone  Valley,  'an  old  lake  basin  with  a  canyon 
at  each  end.' 

DIARY 

'  Long,  low  undulating  line.  "  Moraines,  if  ever  I 
saw  them  !  "  "  Is  that  an  erratic  against  the  sky  ?  " 1 
Porphyry  boulders,  granite,  flint,  fragments  of  chalced- 
ony. The  Lake  Terraces.  The  Basalt  Plateau,  flat 
tables.  Caught  a  dozen  trout,  average  half  a  pound, 
in  half  an  hour.  Camped  at  Bottler's,  just  opposite 
Emigrant  Peak ;  a  hundred  prospectors  gulching  for 
gold  and  silver. 

'  WEDNESDAY,  Sept.  3d.  —  Trout  breakfast.  Our 
horses,  old  cavalry  "  condemned."  Open  valley.  Passed 
several  "wailing"  heaps  of  stones,  made  by  Indian 
squaws  to  the  Great  Spirit  when  any  of  their  braves 
died.  "  Nooned  "  at  Canyon  Creek,  eleven  miles  from 
Bottler's : 2  cold  trout,  tongue,  and  crackers.  Fishing, 
caught  a  two-and-a-half  pounder,  sluggish,  not  game. 
Broke  camp  at  two,  entered  second  canyon.  At  mouth 
on  right  magnificent  glaciated  gneiss  (no  granite  in 
canyon).  Moraines  of  immense  size.  Yankee  Jim 
gave  me  a  fine  specimen  of  gold  quartz  from  Bear 
Rock  Canyon,  Yellowstone.  Camp  at  4.30.  Deer 

1  These  words  were  the  exclamation  of  his  companion.     The  existence  of 
former  glaciers  in  these  valleys  had  not  previously  been  observed.  — Note  by  Pro- 
fessor Geikie. 

2  He  spells  it  Boetler's. 


JET.  28]  THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS 

hanging  between  willows.  Meteor,  camp  talk,  buffalo 
robes. 

'THURSDAY,  Sept.  4th.  —  Up  at  5.30,  washed,  break- 
fast at  6.  Broke  camp  at  7.15.  Rode  along  flank  of 
Cinnabar  Mountain  —  limestone  mostly.  At  the  south 
end  of  the  Devil's  Slide  upturned  beds  of  limestones 
and  bands  of  red  and  cream-coloured  marls,  almost 
vertical ;  the  walls  of  the  slide  composed  of  straight 
planed  walls  of  limestone,  exactly  parallel,  soft  layers 
worn  away  but  still  quite  distinct  in  part  along  the 
west  wall;  firs  scattered  through  the  gap,  morning 
sun  shining  straight  in  and  bringing  out  the  vivid 
colouring  of  the  great  bands  of  rock  curving  down 
the  mountain  slope.  Came  to  log  shanty,  store  for 
miners,  got  gold  specimen  from  miner  in  next  shanty ; 
a  ranch  burned  by  Indians  two  years  ago.  Passed 
waggon  with  magnificent  head  of  elk,  passed  dead 
rattlesnake.  For  two  or  three  miles  on  this  side  of 
junction  of  Yellowstone  with  Gardiner  rivers  magnifi- 
cent moraine  mounds  and  lovely  little  lake  basin. 
Struck  across  Gardiner  River,  long  wearisome  ride 
over  high  mounds  and  ridge  of  landslides  and  mo- 
raines, passed  two  or  three  moraine  lakes.  Suddenly, 
without  a  minute's  warning,  half  a  mile  off,  [what 
looked  like]  a  gigantic  glacier,  glittering  through  the 
pines.  Camp  on  a  rill,  lunch. 

'  EXAMINATION  OF  SPRINGS. —  First  approach,  exceed- 
ing beauty  and  delicacy  of  fretwork,  cascades  above 
cascades.  The  hot  springs,  basins  all  temperature; 
the  orifice,  140°.  Edge  colours  of  leaf  fronds  and 
seaweeds,  white  with  orange  veining ;  sacrilege  to 
tread  upon  it.  You  look  for  notice-board  in  vain. 
Pools  of  every  conceivable  shape  and  size,  rim  usu- 
ally two  to  four  inches  cut  out  like  coral.  Each 
basin  a  slight  slope  upwards,  successive  deposits 


172  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1879 

marked  upon  sides  as  if  they  were  made  of  piles  of 
coins,  framework  of  hills  all  around,  dark  pine  forests 
and  grass.  Rise  on  to  a  plateau,  you  are  in  an  arctic 
scene,  everything  is  white  like  snow,  the  trees  are 
growing  up  through  it  here  and  there.  Water  where 
it  reaches  the  downmost  lips  is  tasteless ;  where  it 
bubbles  up  it  strongly  tastes  of  sulphuretted  .hydrogen. 

'  THE  PULPITS.  —  One  place  has  fifty ;  in  shade  cream- 
coloured,  in  sunshine  spotless  white.  Stalactites  here 
and  there.  Bottom  of  each  pulpit  covered  with  soft 
tufts  of  most  delicate  moss.  Whole  ground  sounds 
hollow. 

'  THE  FOREST.  —  A  little  farther  on,  the  remains  of  a 
burned  forest.  The  springs  have  come  down  through 
a  wood  and  destroyed  the  trees.  Now  they  stand  up, 
some  erect,  some  half-prostrate,  just  as  in  the  living 
forest,  but  blanched,  grey,  dead,  holding  out  thin, 
gaunt,  bare  arms  as  if  in  protest.  Here  and  there  an 
arbor  vitce  has  survived  and  put  on  greenness  once 
more. 

'THE  CASCADES.  —  Water  falling  over  a  hundred 
little  balconies.  On  either  side  these  balconies  are 
as  white  as  stucco.  Where  the  cascades  come  down 
the  walls  are  dyed  near  the  top  a  deep  orange,  almost 
red,  farther  down  a  deep  yellow,  then  saffron  and 
exquisite  shades  of  pink,  then  cream,  then  white. 
The  water  itself  is  milk-white,  steaming  at  the  top, 
and  pattering  and  splashing  like  the  fountains  in 
gardens.  This  is  at  the  top  of  the  forest;  the  most 
wonderful  colouring  is  at  the  southwest  corner,  above 
the  petrified  wood,  and  running  through  it.  The 
fountain  basins  here  are  as  regular  as  if  chiselled  by 
hand ;  the  colours  are  pink,  salmon,  dark  and  light 
purple,  white,  cinnamon. 

'  THE  UPPER  BASIN.  —  The  blue  colour  of  the  water 


yEx.  28]  THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS 

—  the  photograph  —  looking  for  a  place  to  bathe  — 
the  cascades  —  the  variegated  tables  —  marble,  ala- 
baster, etc. 

'FRIDAY,  Sept.  5th.  —  Seymour,  the  artist  —  Yellow- 
stone Kelly,  Miles's  scout,  —  where  the  Indians  killed. 
Crossed  Gardiner  River  —  rode  up  valley  of  east  fork 
of  Gardiner  River,  like  Black  Forest  scenery.  After 
an  hour's  ride  we  surmounted  the  plateau  of  basalt 
(waterfall)  at  the  head  of  the  valley.  Then  for  hours 
wound  over  an  undulating  country,  ridges  and  mounds, 
covered  with  erratic  blocks  of  granite.  The  ice  action 
quite  remarkable,  showing  that  the  country  has  been 
covered  with  ice  and  not  simply  a  local  glacier; 
grand  stream,  with  chalcedony,  many  agates ;  elk- 
heads  and  horns  of  deer  and  buffalo  scattered  every- 
where. Then  began  descent  through  valleys  of  pine 
and  poplar ;  camp  waiting  in  a  meadow,  open  pastures, 
animals  turned  loose.  Only  2.30 ;  ramble  after  lunch ; 
rocks,  roses,  squirrels.  Jack  went  to  look  for  an 
antelope,  failed.  O  that  bacon!  Dark  at  7.30;  bed 
by  8.30. 

'  SATURDAY,  6th.  —  Awoke  at  five,  thermometer  in 
tent  36° ;  outside  the  ground  was  covered  with  frost, 
ice  in  dishes  and  on  creek,  wash  cold.1  Bacon  again ! 
Tomatoes.  The  ceremony  of  packing.  Three  miles 
to  Lower  Creek  —  not  time  to  visit  the  Fall.  Struck 
up  the  long  ridge  of  Mount  Washburne,  over  hillside 
and  forest ;  long  ride,  seven  hours  in  saddle.  Andy's 
shooting  —  a  prairie  chicken.  When  riding  three 
paces  behind  him  suddenly  fired,  .  .  .  [?]  our  horses 
into  the  air,  a  diabolical  smell  —  the  skunk!  Our 
camp  at  end  of  long  meadow  in  full  view  of  Wash- 
burne, the  usual  streamlet. 

'  Visit  to  the  Falls  and  Canyon ;  the  evening  light 

1  They  were  about  six  thousand  feet  above  sea  level. 


174  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1879 

the  most  favourable ;  two  things  —  the  colouring  from 
an  aesthetic  standpoint,  the  erosion  from  a  geological. 
The  section  at  camp  in  stream :  a  devitrified  obsidian 
(pumiceous  base,  abundantly  filled  with  currant-like 
fragments  of  the  original  obsidian),  resting  on  perlite 
and  covered  by  an  obsidian  tuff.  The  great  in- 
terest of  the  march  lay  in  tracing  the  granite  boul- 
ders right  up  the  flanks  of  Washburne.  The  ice 
sheet  must  have  been  of  enormous  thickness,  and  not 
merely  local.  The  tracks  of  the  glacier  flow  and  wind 
round  the  mountain,  and  are  caught  up  again  in  the 
long  plateau  traversed  the  day  before  along  the  east 
fork  of  Gardiner  River. 

'  SABBATH,  yth.  —  Remained  encamped  all  day,  spent 
the  day  wandering  around  the  Canyon,  the  magnificent 
timber  like  a  gentleman's  park  for  thousands  of  acres, 
soft  yellow  glades,  withered  flowers,  one  herb  like  the 
maidenhair,  only  with  a  thicker  stem.  The  N.  T. 

'  The  Squirrel ;  Jack  off  hunting,  Andy  ditto ;  the 
cranes.  Return  to  camp.  "  There's  Jack,"  a  minut- 
est figure  in  the  distance  —  "  Has  he  got  anything?  " 
Nothing  —  another  week  on  bacon  !  "  Something 
white?  A  crane?  What  —  a  sack.  What  have  you 
got?"  "Elk!"  The  unpacking  —  the  choice  bits, 
the  supper ! 

'  THE  CANYON.1  —  The  most  grand  and  memorable 
spectacle  of  my  life,  the  inconceivable  beauty  and 
glory  of  the  colouring;  a  colossal  gorge  zigzagging; 
green,  foaming,  spraying,  roaring  river.  The  sides  of 
the  gorge  —  not  clean-cut,  but  carved  into  alcoves,  pin- 
nacles, spires,  of  the  most  picturesque  and  fantastic 
forms.  The  original  colour  of  the  rock  is  pure,  daz- 
zling white  from  river  to  crest,  but  little  of  the  white 

1  That  is,  the  Grand  Canyon  of  the  Yellowstone  River  at  the  south  foot  of 
Mount  Washburne. 


^Ex.  28]  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS  175 

is  left  save  here  and  there  a  brilliant  scar.  The  first 
weathering  is  a  pale  lemon  yellow,  deepening  into 
saffron,  sulphur,  and  through  all  the  shades  of  yellow 
into  the  deepest  orange.  Then  another  gradation  is 
the  most  tender  rose-pink  into  vermilion  and  dark 
blood-red.  The  tone  of  the  whole  is  a  rich  cream 
colour,  deepening  into  russets  and  yellows  and  oranges 
—  a  kind  of  artificial  sunlight.  The  distance  tones 
were  first  in  the  yellows,  a  faint  spring  green ;  and  the 
usual  purple,  shading  into  the  deepest  blue  of  distance 
as  the  canyon  lost  itself  in  the  distant  gloom,  at 
the  foot  of  Mount  Washburne.  The  Fall  —  the  lush 
green  at  the  cauldron,  the  purple  mists,  the  roar,  the 
emerald  green  at  the  crests  succeeded  by  dazzling 
spray  —  for  three  hundred  and  fifty  feet.  The  lichen 
colours,  brown  here  and  there.  The  dark  green  pines 
mantling  the  whole,  and  straggling  here  and  there  in 
single  file  right  down  to  the  water's  edge. 

*  GEOLOGICAL.  —  The  rock  is  rhyolite  —  a  solid  mass 
of  volcanic  formation.  Then  the  interest  of  the  vast 
erosion,  first,  of  the  stream;  second,  of  the  weather, 
frost,  and  jointing  along  the  sides.  All  through  the 
forest  and  on  all  the  plateau  around  the  great  blocks 
of  granite  and  gneiss  are  records  of  the  glacier  age. 
The  three  elements  combine:  fire,  water,  and  ice. 

'MONDAY,  the  8th  of  September.  —  Followed  trail 
through  magnificently  timbered  country  with  parks, 
glades,  and  streamlets,  then  across  prairie  country  to 
head  of  Alum  Creek  —  deposits,  effluvium  [from] 
steaming  springs,  sulphur  mountain,  Solfataras.  Trail 
through  timber  again.  Over  the  Divide.  Down  steep 
forest-clad  hill  to  the  east  fork  of  Madison  River. 
Fire  Hole  River.  Through  long  swamp  —  timber 
again.  Camp  in  glade  by  river-side.  Seven  hours  in 
saddle.  Lunch,  bathe,  bear,  theological  discussion 


176  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1879 

with  Jack.  Geology,  volcanic  all  day.  Obsidian 
blocks  everywhere ;  schistose  obsidian. 

'  TUESDAY,  Sept.  gth. —  Broke  camp  about  8.30,  mag- 
nificent ride  through  glade  and  forest,  crossed  Fire 
Hole  River  several  times :  clean  turf  banks,  meadow, 
green  and  golden  grass.  Puff  of  steam  here  and  there 
through  the  forest,  white  patches  of  geyser  deposit. 
Lovely  little  basin  by  side  of  trail,  green  emerald 
water.  Then  struck  through  fallen  timber  —  suddenly 
the  forest  opened  —  an  immense  glade  encircled  by 
pine  mountains,  the  further  end  covered  with  snow. 

'OLD  FAITHFUL.  —  Notice  his  spurt  at  lunch,  1.21 
P.M.  Went  up  at  the  hour  of  next  performance. 
Precisely  at  the  hour  almost,  2.20,  he  gave  a  grunt 
and  then  threw  up  a  little  water.  Visitors  rushed 
back  in  alarm.  Then  at  intervals,  say  at  i  J  minutes, 
he  made  another  feint;  then  the  feints  became  more 
frequent,  each  succeeding  better  than  the  last.  Finally 
he  ran  up  twenty  or  thirty  feet  and  then,  as  if  climbing 
on  the  shoulders  of  this  he  ran  up  his  column  to  the 
full  height.  This  began  about  2.30,  and  the  maximum 
was  reached  about  2.31 ;  it  remained  at  this  height, 
say  one  minute,  and  then  gradually  lessened.  The 
eruption  lasted  till  2.36^ —  about  4^-  minutes.  Ap- 
pearance—  in  the  distance  a  low  flat  mound  appears 
rugged  as  you  approach  it,  then  as  you  get  near  you 
imagine  it  to  be  made  of  coral-madrepore.  A  little  coral 
island,  —  on  narrower  inspection  urns,  pools,  basins, 
fantastic  shapes,  every  conceivable  design  and  colour, 
—  pink,  yellow,  orange,  umber.  Many  of  the  pools 
contain  water  —  very  pure  —  a  faint  but  perceptible 
taste  of  sulphuretted  hydrogen.  One  or  two  orifices 
in  the  mound  were  steaming  —  small  caverns  as  large 
as  a  coal-scuttle,  some  of  them  too  hot  to  hold  the 
hand  in.  The  "  valleys  "  along  the  flank  of  the  little 


MT.  28]  THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS  177 

island  were  made  of  tesselated  pavement  of  imma- 
ture [?]  workmanship,  like  sections  cut  smooth  from 
brain  coral.  Some,  nearly  all,  held  little  lakes  from 
the  size  of  a  walnut  shell  upwards,  with  pink  bottoms. 
Others  had  a  little  rivulet  trickling  down.  At  one 
side  quite  a  little  stream  wound  down  to  the  river  a 
hundred  and  fifty  yards  off.  The  bed  of  this  rill  was 
covered  with  fragments  of  silicified  wood.  The  ridges 
were  made  of  masses  of  pearls  without  the  tesselated 
look ;  ruggedly  smoothed  lumps,  bosses  like  botryoidal. 
After  the  eruption  the  whole  sides  were  running  with 
rills  which  sparkled  in  the  sun  gloriously,  as  they 
trickled  from  basin  to  basin. 

'  Sitting  on  the  mound  after  making  notes,  a  rhythmic 
thud  at  one  minute  interval.  Hot  to  the  seat.  The 
orifice  of  the  geyser — a  roughly  oval  hole,  large  enough 
to  let  two  tolerably  stout  men  slip  through.  Noise 
like  a  barn  threshing-mill,  giving  occasional  explosions, 
water  coming  up  but  not  over  edge,  cloud  of  steam, 
sides  lined  with  dark  orange,  slimy  coating,  with  a  pale 
sulphurous  colour  round  the  margin.  The  moment 
the  lip  was  reached  the  beautiful  madrepore  formation 
began.  Two  handkerchiefs  and  a  hat  recovered,  my 
handkerchief  forfeited. 

3.15  boil  in  tube. 

3.20  spurted  thick  about  5  ft.  in  air,  boiling  and  increasing. 

3.21^-  spurted  thick  about  5  ft.  in  air. 

3.22^  spurted  twice,  once  about  5  ft.,  once  3. 

3.23  spurted  once  about  5  ft. 

3.25  spurted  once  about  2  ft. 

3.26  thick  stream,  5  ft. 

3.27  thick  stream,  5  ft. 

3.28  very  thin  shower,  4  ft. 

3.29  shower,  12  ft. 
3.29^  shower  rising. 

3.29!     shower  rose  to  full  height  and  continued  at  this  maximum,  till 


178  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1879 

3.30!     then  dwindled  but  action  brisk,  till 

3.35       the  last  half  minute  steam  alone  but  in  a  thick  mass.     The 
geyser  steams  always. 

'  Old  Faithful  occupies  a  very  prominent  position  on 
a  white  sinter  plateau  raised  above  the  valley  and  look- 
ing down  on  all  the  other  geysers.  Three  extinct 
geysers  surround  it  at  fifty  paces,  and  another  lies  to 
the  west  the  same  distance,  which  was  slowly  steaming. 
These  four  attendants  are  all  perfectly  symmetrical,  of 
the  same  size,  and  equidistant.1  Vast  pine-woods 
encircle  the  whole  geyser  basin,  and  straggling  islands 
of  timber  are  scattered  through  the  whole  undulating 
valley.  Here  and  there  white  colour  of  steam,  now 
one  in  full  blast. 

4.30  "  there  it  goes  " — signs. 

4.32  low  spurt. 

4.34  low  spurt. 

4.37  high. 
4.37!  higher. 

4.38  up  to  max.,  lasts  4  minutes,  very  high. 

5.39,  date  of  next  eruption,  seen  from  Beehive  —  3^ 
minutes.  First  water  falls  back  into  funnel  —  after 
that  the  temperature  is  so  high  that  when  pressure 
is  relieved  it  turns  into  steam  [  ?].  Geysers  damming 
up  river  with  sinter.  Springs  on  both  sides  meeting. 
The  river  banks  simply  show  sections  of  geyserite. 
Overlapping  curves.  Mounds  raised  by  overflow  from 
the  basin.  Hyalite  (or  millerite  ?)  the  usual  (?)  struct- 
ure in  Old  Faithful.  Took  temperature  of  two  springs, 
ist,  185°  F.,  2d,  200°  F.  Boiling  briskly.  Appear- 
ance an  irregular  tube,  tawny,  ugly  throats.  A  third 
with  a  thin  crust  of  ice  floating  on  the  top,  such  was 
the  appearance.  The  water  was  very  deep  and  of  the 
most  perfect  crystal,  blue  in  shade  —  green  in  sun.2 

1  Here  follows  a  rough  sketch.  2  With  this  a  rough  sketch. 


JE.T.  28]  THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS  I  79 

'  Explored  the  Giantess,  the  Beehive,  the  Jokers  [?]. 
Played  at  stopping  up  a  would-be  geyser.  Different 
forms:  mermaid  grottos,  ulcers,  gashes,  gaping 
mouths  with  horrid  yellow  umber  lips ;  grunting, 
snorting,  hissing,  bubbling,  gurgling,  spluttering.  A 
pink  tube,  six  feet  —  pink  coral.  Rugged  coral  sides, 
like  a  cancer. 

'WEDNESDAY,  Sept.  10.  —  Up  at  6,  wash  in  creek. 
Elk  and  tomatoes.  Old  Faithful  played  at  6.26,  a 
very  fine  display,  and  again  at  7.24 ;  just  saw  him 
finish,  at  7.25  to  .27;  saw  two  minutes' play,  not  at 
maximum.  Examined  the  Castle,  Vesuvius,  the 
Grotto,  the  Punch-bowl,  the  Cancer.  Adjoining 
this,  a  deep  grotto,  with  dentate  or  serrate  margin  — 
orange  fringe  all  around.  At  the  side  of  this  a  blis- 
tered crust  —  about  ten  feet  diameter,  with  five  ragged 
holes,  lined  with  sulphur  and  black  mineral  [?],  three 
steaming,  one  little  pond  still,  and  fringed  with  deli- 
cate lace  [?]  work.  The  fourth  boiling,  and  splutter- 
ing boiling  water,  and  gurgling.  One  of  these  mouths 
has  raised,  pouting  lips.1 

'  Old  Faithful  played  at  8.30  and  9.30  precisely.  The 
Castle  in  full  blast,  9.15. 

'  Collecting  diatoms,  heard  shouting,  two  men  holler- 
ing ;  great  spluttering  and  tremendous  clouds  of  steam. 
Suddenly  they  ran  down  bank  and  struck  across  river 
—  up  to  knees  at  least.  "  The  Castle  !  "  Reached  it 
breathless,  thinking  it  was  as  short  in  its  period  as  Old 
Faithful — played  on  and  on  and  on.  Booming.  Party 
came  here  on  Monday  evening ;  Castle  has  not  spurted 
since  then.  Hats  in,  thrown  high  in  the  air,  hand- 
kerchiefs, stones ;  showered  out.2 

1  Rough  sketch  given  of  '  a  very  perfect  form  of  geyser,  perfectly  round,  shallow 
saucer,  with  an  irregular  funnel  mouth — boiling.'     Three  other  larger  sketches. 

2  Sketch  of  '  outline  of  Castle  against  blue  sky,  the  rainbow,  the  whole  sides 
running  with  steam.' 


l8o  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1879 

'  After  lunch  walked  on  to  examine  the  remaining 
geysers :  Fan,  Grave,  Sawmill,  etc.  Saw  Sawmill  in 
action.  Snow  came  on  as  we  were  emerging  from  the 
basin.  Walked  to  the  half-way  group.  There  over- 
taken by  pack  train.  Struck 1  camp  in  a  bay  of  the 
wood  overlooking  geyser  basin  (lower).  Went  off  to 
examine  many  lively  geysers. 

'  THE  MUD  GEYSER.  —  The  most  comical  thing  in 
nature !  On  a  summit  of  a  pine  grove  —  grass  and 
wild  flowers.  You  come  to  a  low  oval  basin,  marked 
out  by  an  undulating  rim  of  some  dazzling  white  ma- 
terial. The  one-half  of  the  basin  consists  of  a  pink, 
sun-cracked  mud  of  the  consistency  of  the  finest 
stucco  —  not  a  flat  surface,  but  a  score  of  large  mole- 
hills, each  made  of  concentric  cones,  the  rings  quite 
well  marked,  and  each  terminating  in  a  perfectly  round 
mouth,  like  a  miniature  crater.  Here  and  there  the 
cone  is  inverted,  leaving  a  round  hole.  One  or  two  of 
them  are  steaming  faintly,  and  a  dusting  of  sulphur  is 
sprinkled  over  one  or  two  of  them.  One  or  two  of  the 
craters  are  also  smoking,  hissing  briskly.  The  major- 
ity are  stiff  and  cold.  The  pink  colour  is  exceedingly 
beautiful  and  delicate,  very  pale  —  a  mere  tinge  —  yet 
quite  decided  in  its  tone.  The  other  half  of  the  pond 
is  altogether  deposit.  It  consists  of  the  purest  white 
mud,  boiling  as  briskly  as  the  viscous  nature  of  the 
material  will  permit.  The  spurts  come  up  in  little 
domes,  some  only  the  size  of  a  thimble-top,  some  a 
walnut,  a  teacup,  a  sugar-bowl.  They  blow  up  like  a 
soap-bubble,  quite  suddenly,  and  burst  in  a  tiny  foun- 
tain. The  rings  which  they  make  in  falling  remain 
fixed  round  each,  so  that  each  bubble  has  a  number  of 
concentric  circles  surmounting  it,  giving  a  very  pecul- 
iar symmetrical  pattern,  which  adorns  the  entire  sur- 

i  Pitched? 


^T.  28]  THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS  l8l 

face  of  the  geyser.  *  Sometimes,  instead  of  one  bubble 
coming  up  like  a  cup,  half  a  dozen  little  thimbles 
dance  up,  each  with  its  little  rings  around  it.  A 
small  island  of  solid  mud  stands  to  one  side.  This  is 
shaped  like  a  small  model  of  a  mountain  in  stucco, 
and  the  dancing  bells  all  around  it  give  a  very  curious 
effect. 

'  But  the  most  peculiar  thing  is  at  the  junction  of  the 
solid  pink  with  the  white.  The  greatest  heat  is  appar- 
ently at  the  white  end,  and  the  pond  is  slowly  becom- 
ing solid.  The  mud  near  the  junction  is  much  thicker, 
and  the  spurts  in  the  thicker  crust  much  more  con- 
strained ;  the  noise  here  is  loudest,  the  motion  slowest, 
but  the  patterns  infinitely  more  amusing.  Here  is 
one  circle  of  mud  as  big  as  a  large  dinner-plate ;  a 
ring  or  two,  like  a  thick  rope,  surrounds  it.  These 
ropy  rims  are  so  thick  that  the  power  below  can 
scarcely  destroy  them,  and  they  remain  constant  for 
several  minutes  at  a  time.  The  centre  of  the  plate  is 
the  great  scene  of  action.  At  first  there  lies  upon  it 
a  little  shape  of  jelly,  like  a  custard  just  turned  out  of 
its  cup.  Suddenly  it  is  heaved  up  in  the  air.  A 
ragged  mass  of  mud  hangs  in  the  air  for  a  moment, 
and  then  as  suddenly  another  custard  is  lying  on  the 
plate,  just  like  the  last.  Another  moment  of  pause, 
the  bottom  of  the  plate  is  slowly  knocked  out  once 
more,  the  custard  disappears,  and  this  time  a  pear  lies 
on  the  plate.  Then  another  custard,  then  two.  Once 
three  came  all  at  once.  There  was  a  whole  basin  of 
these  plates,  all  going  through  the  same  legerdemain 
at  once.  This  was  going  on  in  a  small  bay  formed  by 
the  hardened  crust,  standing  two  feet  above  the  sur- 
face. I  was  standing  on  this  crust  (I  am  now),  within 
an  inch  of  the  edge  of  the  boiling  custards,  right  in 

1  Rough  sketch. 


1 82  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1879 

the  centre  of  the  pond.  One  spurt  of  mud  lit  on  my 
hand  from  the  next  bay,  where  the  most  interesting 
operation  of  all  was  going  on.  This  bay  was  six  feet 
long  by  two  and  a  half,  yet  it  only  contained  four 
spouters.  The  rest  were  all  closed  up.  One  of  them 
deceived  me  for  a  long  time.  I  thought  he  was 
stopped  up,  too,  but  he  suddenly  began  to  grunt  and 
throw  up  pellets  of  mud  five  feet  in  the  air.  One  fel- 
low was  shut  up,  all  but  a  hole  the  size  of  your  finger. 
He  was  a  little  dome  of  plastic  mud,  and  every  bubble 
of  steam  made  him  heave  an  inch  or  two,  so  that  he 
was  riding  up  and  down  like  a  ship  at  anchor,  or  a 
buoy  in  a  ground  swell,  all  the  time.  The  little  orifice 
was  alternately  being  stopped  up  and  blown  out,  and 
the  grunting  he  kept  up  was  tragic  to  behold.  The 
colour  of  these  last  was  the  delicate  pink  which  made 
the  sight  a  most  beautiful  one,  and  quite  destroyed 
one's  notion  of  a  mud  geyser.  A  faint  steam  was 
rising  all  the  time.  The  sky  was  the  most  exquisite 
blue,  the  snow-shower  of  the  past  hour  having  cleared 
off  the  smoke  from  the  burning  forests,  which  filled 
the  air  all  the  past  week. 

'The  symmetry  of  the  bubbles  is  the  next  most  note- 
worthy thing.  The  rings  are  perfectly  formed  and 
rise  like  mounds.1  The  thickened  spurts  obviously 
mark  the  declining  energy  of  the  spring.  The  mud 
is  thicker,  the  ebullition  less  brisk,  and  here  and  there 
in  the  "  bays  "  has  already  become  quite  stiff  and  im- 
pervious to  the  passage  of  steam.  One  plate  or  cone 
became  silent  and  quite  stopped  up  apparently  while 
I  was  standing  by ;  it  was  the  one  closest  to  the  solid 
mud  behind,  and  was  the  next  in  natural  course  to 
shut  up. 

'The  white  colour  resembles  molten  porcelain  or 

1  A  sketch. 


/Er.  28]  THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS  183 

china.  The  present  circuit  of  the  pond  is  about  150 
(paces)  yards,  but  it  is  evident  that  at  the  solid  end 
has  once  been  much  larger.  The  grassless  part  equals 
150  yards.  The  independence  of  all  the  geysers  — 
each  on  its  own  hook  —  sometimes  one  boiling,  three 
feet  off  another  perfectly  quiet,  next  one  another 
roarer.1  Jack  assures  me  that  in  [?]'s  time  the  whole 
pond  was  like  meerschaum.  The  last  escort  made 
pipes,  bowls,  ornaments.  Next  morning  they  were 
all  cracked. 

'  On  the  way  back  to  camp  shot  a  skunk ;  immense 
brushlike  tail,  slow  motion ;  only  measure  of  defence 
the  smell.  Small  black  head,  glossy  black  fur;  skin,  20 
cents.  Supper,  mock-turtle  soup,  brandered  elk  steak, 
bread,  and  tea.  Andy  cut  down  two  trees  for  fire- 
wood. Put  one  bodily  on  fire.  Intense  cold.  The 
wolf  barking,  the  red  squirrel  cracking  in  the  wood 
below. 

'THURSDAY,  Sept.  nth.  —  Thermometer  at  5.30, 
outside  tent,  19°.  Everything  froze  stiff.  Breakfast 
of  elk,  green  corn,  jam,  coffee,  hard  tack,  bread,  and 
more  of  Andy's  stories.  "  It  does  a  fellow  good  to  get 
out  a  string  of  oaths  —  four  or  five  miles  long  —  to  be 
continued  on  the  next  page."  The  plain  before  the 
camp  bounded  by  fine  forest,  volumes  of  steam  coming 
up  everywhere  around.  The  white  puffs  in  the  dis- 
tant wood,  the  great  clouds  over  the  main  geyser 
group,  the  cold  condensing  the  steam  rapidly.  Counted 
fifty  from  the  trail  a  few  yards  from  camp.  Soon 
struck  Madison  River  —  peculiarity  of  flow,  no  flood 
mark,  uniform  banks  of  turf,  like  travelling  through 
Hyde  Park  heavily  timbered.  The  Madison  Canyon 
—  very  fine  scenery,  wide-timbered  glen,  splendid 
crags  here  and  there.  Trail  crosses  river  four  or 

1  Here  a  sketch-map  of  all  these  mud  geysers. 


184  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1879 

five  times.  After  passing  through  canyon  crossed 
and  camped  on  meadowy  bank  by  a  small  clump  of 
firs.  Lunch. 

4  At  3  or  3.30  went  hunting  antelope  with  Jack ; 
struck  through  timber  for  a  mile  and  a  half,  crossing 
little  prairie.  Abundant  sign  everywhere.  Sign  of 
antelope  in  timber  is  unique :  "  been  down  there  ? " 
Struck  high  prairie;  soon  sighted  game;  made  fine 
stalk  behind  clump  of  trees;  Jack  to  fire,  for  camp 
wanted  meat :  threw  down  hat,  crawled  on  belly  thirty 
yards  under  bush  and  fallen  timber;  fired  at  doe  on 
the  watch.  Herd  (unseen  till  now)  all  started  and  ran. 
In  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  the  doe  fell  dead,  after 
running  full  speed  all  that  distance.  I  got  a  long  shot 
with  Andy's  cavalry  carbine  at  the  retreating  herd, 
six,  with  one  fine  buck,  but  they  were  just  disappear- 
ing over  the  brow  of  a  hill.  Sighted  game  next  by  a 
watercourse  in  glade  one  mile  off.  On  nearing  the 
place  crept  up  a  slope  and  saw  game  two  hundred 
yards  away.  Hat  off,  down  on  belly;  wormed  through 
the  grass  till  within  a  hundred  and  fifty  yards ;  wind 
blowing  right  from  me  to  them.  Fired.  As  usual,  all 
started.  Jack  ran  to  the  right  to  catch  them  as  they 
ran  back,  I  to  where  they  would  round  the  hill.  Pres- 
ently the  magnificent  buck  dashed  past  at  full  speed  — 
flying  shot,  must  have  missed.  Fired  at  a  doe  coming 
behind  —  must  have  struck  her  originally,  as,  although 
Jack  fired  at  her,  three  bullets  were  in  her  when  she 
dropped.  Jack  had  shot  another  through  the  fore  legs, 
which  I  killed  with  my  revolver.  During  the  retreat 
Jack  surprised  a  second  herd  and  killed  one  more. 
Total,  four  antelopes  —  all  does. 

'  NOTE. — The  antelope  is  a  prairie  animal.  Witness 
in  the  first  place  its  splendid  speed.  It  is  the  fleetest 
of  all  animals,  and  to  see  a  herd  of  six  or  eight  dash- 


Mi.  28]  THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS  185 

ing  along  the  prairie  is  a  sight  to  keep  the  keenest 
sportsman  from  touching  his  trigger.  Powers  of 
speed  like  the  antelope's  would  be  useless  in  Switzer- 
land. Nevertheless,  they  do  inhabit  some  districts 
which  are  essentially  timber  lands,  but  they  make 
their  home  in  the  long  grassy  glades  with  which  nearly 
every  forest  in  the  West  is  studded,  or  in  the  small  rich 
prairies  of  rising  ground,  interspersed  among  the 
woods.  For  another  thing,  their  fur  is  altogether 
inappropriate  to  forest  life.  If  you  put  your  ringers 
into  it  and  pull  gently  you  can  pull  the  whole  hair  out 
by  handfuls.  A  forest  animal  requires  a  fur  which  is 
well  rooted  in  the  skin  to  resist  the  rough  friction  of 
the  trees,  brush,  and  especially  the  sharp  prongs  and 
spines  of  fallen  timber. 

'TENACITY  OF  LIFE.  —  Jack's  first  shot  entered  at  the 
breast,  and  ploughed  clean  through  the  body,  coming 
out  within  an  inch  of  the  tail.  The  animal,  however, 
bounded  off  as  if  nothing  unusual  had  happened ;  ran 
down  hill  at  full  speed  along  with  its  companions  for 
one  hundred  and  fifty  yards,  and  then  dropped  stone 
dead.  Another,  which  was  shot  through  both  legs, 
hobbled  along  a  considerable  distance  like  a  kangaroo, 
using  the  hind  legs  and  the  breast,  until  I  shot  her 
dead  through  the  neck  with  my  revolver.  The  effect 
of  the  cry,  "  Hoo,  hoo,"  in  making  them  turn  round 
even  when  scared.  On  the  plains  they  feed  with 
buffalo  in  countless  herds.  Their  fur  is  almost  use- 
less, for  the  reason  mentioned,  but  their  skin  is  valu- 
able for  gloves,  gauntlets,  etc.  The  bucks  are  the 
most  difficult  to  stalk.  They  always  manage  to  get 
into  a  place  in  the  herd  where  no  stalk  is  possible. 

'FRIDAY,  Sept.  i2th.  —  Broke  camp  precisely  at 
eight.  Ice  outside  tent,  sponge  inside  frozen  into  a 
boulder,  but  the  night  much  warmer  than  the  preced- 


1 86  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1879 

ing.  Crossed  the  Madison,  and  followed  through 
woods  and  glades  for  several  miles  the  general  course 
of  the  river,  though  often  out  of  sight  of  its  banks. 
The  trail  lay  over  an  ancient  river-terrace  (perfectly 
well  marked  —  compare  terraces  on  Madison  between 
Virginia  City  and  Bozeman),  which  made  the  riding 
easy.  After  leaving  the  river  struck  through  timber 
with  prairies  and  abundant  game,  antelope,  everywhere 
for  twelve  miles,  when  we  crossed  a  fork  of  the  Madi- 
son. The  trail  next  led  up  the  low  Divide,  across  the 
main  chain  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  through  the 
Tangee  [?]  Pass.  The  ascent  is  very  gentle,  and  it  is 
almost  inconceivable  that  this  should  represent  the 
Divide  between  the  Atlantic  [?]  and  Pacific  waters. 
On  the  Madison  side  of  the  water-shed  we  passed  a 
splendid  beaver-dam,  where  the  beavers  are  still  work- 
ing. Jack  gave  us  the  natural  history  of  the  beaver 
as  we  crossed  the  pass.  After  a  gentle  descent  of  a 
mile  or  two  we  left  the  so-called  waggon-road  and  fol- 
lowed the  brook  —  the  source  of  Snake  River  —  down 
to  Henry's  Lake.  Camped  about  a  couple  of  miles 
from  the  lake  by  the  creek's  side,  and  just  below  a 
very  fine  beaver-dam,  which  we  had  the  opportunity  to 
examine.  It  is  either  now  in  use,  or  has  been  very  re- 
cently abandoned.  Home  by  three  o'clock,  seven  hours 
in  saddle.  Lounging  [?]  Creek  here  is  full  of  trout 
at  grasshopper  season,  but  now  apparently  is  empty. 
On  Henry's  Lake  a  company  of  soldiers  are  encamped, 
for  protection  from  the  Indians.  A  short  stone's 
throw  from  our  camp  I  stumbled  on  a  rough  trench  or 
breastwork.  Jack  says  it  was  thrown  up  in  1877  by 
General  Howard,  who  was  encamped  here  several  days 
when  chasing  the  Nez  Perce  Indians.  They  were  only 
one  day  ahead,  and  sent  back  a  band  who  captured  his 
baggage-train.  General  Howard  followed  the  Indians 


Mr.  28]  THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS  187 

right  over  our  route,  but  they  were  not  captured  till 
General  Miles  headed  them  in  Clark's  Fork  (of  Yel- 
lowstone P).1  Twenty-seven  white  soldiers  were  killed 
during  the  short  resistance,  and  some  threescore  Indian 
braves  —  the  number  captured  was  three  hundred  and 
fifty. 

'  We  saw  lodge  poles  frequently  along  the  route,  but 
these  probably  belonged  to  a  tribe  of  Bannock  Indians 
who  were  camped  a  few  hundred  yards  from  this  spot 
only  this  week.  They  had  been  up  the  Madison  from 
their  reservation  below  Camas  Prairie  after  antelope. 
They  are  supposed  to  be  friendly.  We  shall  likely 
overtake  them  to-morrow  or  next  day. 

'  Before  dinner  strolled  up  the  creek  to  examine  the 
beaver-dam  more  thoroughly.  The  creek  is  of  the 
usual  character,  soft  turf  banks  of  uniform  depth,  a 
few  inches,  and  pebbly  bottom.  An  even  flow  wets 
even  banks,  like  a  shallow  mill-lade.  Breadth  quite 
within  a  very  good  running  jump.  We  traced  it  up 
from  camp  to  the  first  dam.  Poplar  trees  and  willow 
brush  fringed  the  ground,  and  these  had  been  cut 
through  and  dammed  across  the  stream.  Pebbles  and 
mud  had  been  baked  down  upon  the  whole.  The 
dam,  therefore,  was  a  sort  of  wicker  work,  with  rough, 
big  base,  and  more  compact  top  of  interlacing  willow, 
mud,  and  stones,  formed  into  a  stiff,  impervious  em- 
bankment. Along  the  sides  of  the  streamlet  the  log 
stumps  were  left  standing  about  two  to  two  and  a  half 
feet  from  the  ground,  just  gnawed  off  where  the  animal 
could  best  reach  with  his  teeth.  This  dam  extended 
far  across  the  little  valley  beyond  the  bounds  of  the 
stream  a  hundred  [?]  ,  and  the  result  was  the  forma- 
tion of  a  swamp  of  quite  considerable  size.  Here 
peat  formed.  The  beaver,  as  a  geological  agent. 

1  Or  Clark's  Fork,  south  of  Flathead  Lake. 


1 88  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1879 

The  situation  of  the  dam  was  admirably  chosen.  The 
opening  valley,  opening  out  from  the  hills,  a  thin  patch 
of  timber  on  either  side  to  furnish  the  material  for 
building.' 

Here  the  diary  abruptly  closes,  though  the  expedi- 
tion lasted  for  another  fortnight.  Sir  Archibald  Geikie 
writes  of  it :  — 

'  In  this  journey,  thrown  into  closest  contact  with 
him  under  the  most  varied  conditions  of  travel,  includ- 
ing even  sometimes  hardship  and  risk,  I  learned  to 
appreciate  more  than  ever  the  beauty  of  his  character. 
His  singularly  placid  and  equable  temperament  was 
like  a  kind  of  perpetual  sunshine.  Nothing  seemed 
ever  to  discompose  him  or  overshadow  that  winning 
smile  that  used  to  fascinate  the  wild  men  among  whom 
we  were  thrown.  And  yet  he  was  singularly  impres- 
sionable. The  grandeur  of  the  scenery  through  which 
we  passed  appealed  powerfully  to  his  imagination,  and 
his  eyes  would  flash  with  delight  as  each  new  land- 
scape unfolded  itself  before  us. 

'  He  looked  on  everything  with  the  eye  of  a  poet 
first,  and  of  a  man  of  science  afterwards.  The  human 
interests  appealed  to  him  before  he  began  to  dissect 
and  compare  and  classify.  But  the  marvellous  interest 
of  the  geological  phenomena  which  unfolded  them- 
selves as  we  rode  on  through  those  primeval  solitudes 
roused  his  enthusiasm  sometimes  to  the  highest  pitch. 

'  Drummond's  keen  sense  of  humour  was  another 
feature  in  his  nature  that  came  out  vividly  during  that 
memorable  journey.  How  he  would  draw  out  our 
attendants  over  the  camp-fire  at  night,  getting  each 
to  cap  the  other's  thrilling  and  incredible  tales  of 
adventure !  I  would  sometimes  watch  him  playing 


MT.  28]  THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS  189 

them  as  if  they  were  the  trout  or  salmon  he  was 
so  fond  of  alluring  in  the  streams  of  his  own  coun- 
try. And  how  he  would  laugh  over  their  exagger- 
ations, and  suggest  possible  omissions  and  lapses  of 
memory ! ' 

After  their  return  to  Scotland  Drummond  wrote  a 
very  warm  letter  of  thanks  to  his  chief :  — 

To  Professor  Archibald  Geikie 

'PossiLPARK,  GLASGOW,  Nov.  22,  1879. 

'.  .  .  For  my  part,  I  feel  the  Western  expedition 
has  been  a  very  solid  gain,  and  I  know  it  will  be 
helpful  to  me  in  very  many  ways  all  my  life.  The 
short  interval  since  coming  home  has  been  suffi- 
cient to  strike  out  of  the  picture  all  that  was 
merely  incidental ;  and  now  the  perspective  of 
the  whole  begins  to  shape  itself.  The  whole  of 
America  impresses  me  now  as  a  revelation  —  a 
revelation  in  civilisation,  in  politics,  in  human 
nature ;  and  if  not  a  revelation  in  geology,  a  con- 
firmation, elevation,  and  consolidation,  which  is 
more  than  equivalent.  I  feel  the  gain  in  every 
department  of  my  work.  .  .  . 

*  For  all  your  other  kindnesses  to  me  I  cannot 
attempt  to  thank  you.  I  am  sure  I  would  find 
it  not  only  difficult,  but  impossible,  to  express 
how  much  of  all  that  I  have  enjoyed  and  learned 
during  these  past  months  I  have  owed  to  you. 
You  will  allow  me  at  least  this  reference  to  it.' 


CHAPTER  VIII 

DIARIES   OF  TRAVEL.  — II.     EAST  CENTRAL  AFRICA 

IN  the  year  1859  David  Livingstone,  invested  with 
the  powers  of  a  British  consul,  led  a  government  ex- 
pedition to  the  Zambezi.  His  instructions  were  '  to 
extend  our  knowledge  of  the  geography  and  of  the 
mineral  and  agricultural  resources  of  Eastern  and 
Central  Africa;  to  improve  our  acquaintance  with 
the  inhabitants,  and  to  endeavour  to  engage  them 
to  apply  themselves  to  industrial  pursuits  and  to  the 
cultivation  of  their  lands,  with  a  view  to  the  produc- 
tion of  raw  material  to  be  exported  to  England  in 
return  for  British  manufactures.'  It  was  hoped  that 
'  by  encouraging  the  natives  to  occupy  themselves  in 
the  development  of  the  resources  of  the  country,  a 
considerable  advance  might  be  made  towards  the 
extinction  of  the  slave-trade.'  Upon  this  expedition 
Livingstone  discovered  Nyasa,  an  enormous  fresh- 
water lake  some  three  hundred  and  fifty  miles  long  by 
fifteen  to  forty-four  broad.  It  is  surrounded  by  high 
tablelands,  fertile,  and  bearing  a  considerable  popula- 
tion, whose  material  and  moral  interests  Livingstone 
left  as  his  last  bequest  to  his  countrymen.  '  I  have 
opened  the  door,'  he  said ;  '  I  leave  it  to  you  to  see 
that  no  one  closes  it  after  me.'  The  task  was  taken 
up  by  three  British  Churches.  The  Free  Church  of 
Scotland,  under  the  leadership  of  Dr.  Stewart,  founded 
a  station,  which  they  named  Livingstonia,1  at  the  south 

1  The  United  Presbyterian  Church  joins  with  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland  in 
the  Livingstonia  Mission,  paying  the  salary  of  Dr.  Laws,  the  head  of  the  Mission. 

190 


EAST  CENTRAL  AFRICA 

end  of  the  Lake ;  but  they  afterwards  transferred  it 
to  Bandawe,  about  two  hundred  miles  farther  north. 
The  Established  Church  of  Scotland  founded  a  station 
at  Blantyre,  in  the  Shire  Highlands  between  the  Lake 
and  the  Zambezi.  The  Universities  Mission  of  the 
Church  of  England  began  work  on  the  east  of  the 
Lake.  These  missions  did  not  confine  themselves  to 
preaching,  but  among  their  agents  are  doctors  and 
nurses,  male  and  female  teachers,  masons,  carpenters, 
and  gardeners.  About  the  same  time  a  few  British 
traders  began  the  cultivation  of  coffee  and  certain 
cereals  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Blantyre.  But  all 
these  settlements  were  hundreds  of  miles  from  the 
coast ;  and,  in  order  to  convey  their  supplies,  as  well 
as  to  develop  a  commerce  strong  enough  to  supplant 
the  slave-trade  which  devastated  the  region,  a  carrying 
agency  was  needed,  with  stations  on  the  Zambezi,  the 
Shire,  and  the  Lake.  In  1878,  therefore,  the  African 
Lakes  Company,  or  Corporation  as  it  now  is,  was 
formed  by  Glasgow  gentlemen  who  were  in  sympathy 
with  the  missions  and  with  Livingstone's  policy  of 
developing  industries  for  the  natives  and  keeping  from 
them  spirits,  gunpowder,  and  arms.  The  Company 
was  not  started  for  gain ;  or  for  gain  only  in  the  sense 
that  commercial  soundness  is  the  one  solid  basis  on 
which  to  build  up  an  institution  that  is  to  permanently 
benefit  others.  A  large  amount  of  private  capital  has 
been  expended  by  this  Company;  yet,  during  the  years 
of  its  noble  enterprise,  it  has  reinvested  in  Africa 
all  that  it  has  earned  there.  In  a  short  time  it 
founded  twelve  trading  stations,  manned  by  twenty- 
five  Europeans  and  many  native  agents.  It  ran  a 

Old  Livingstonia,  at  the  south  end  of  the  Lake,  was  by  Cape  Maclear.  The  name 
has  been  transferred  to  the  Livingstonia  Training  Institution  at  the  head  of  the 
Lake,  near  Mount  Waller  (p.  205),  three  thousand  feet  above  the  Lake. 


192  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1883 

steamer  up  the  Shire,  and  another  upon  Lake  Nyasa. 
It  started  a  coffee  plantation  and  other  agricultural 
works.  '  For  the  first  time  on  the  large  scale  it  taught 
the  natives  the  meaning  and  blessings  of  work.  It 
acted  as  a  check  upon  the  slave-trade,  prevented  inter- 
tribal strife,  helped  to  protect  the  missionaries  in  time 
of  war,  and  in  short,  modest  as  the  scale  was  on  which 
it  worked,  and  necessarily  limited  as  were  its  oppor- 
tunities, it  was  for  years  the  sole  administering  hand 
in  this  part  of  Africa.' 1 

In  1883  Mr.  James  Stevenson,  F.R.G.S.,  was  chair- 
man of  the  Company.  It  occurred  to  him  that  it 
would  be  important  to  have  a  scientific  examination 
of  the  countries  extending  to  Lake  Tanganyika,  and 
this  he  thought  Henry  Drummond  could  carry  out. 
In  June,  Drummond  went  to  Crieff  to  meet  Mr. 
Stevenson,  and,  leave  of  absence  having  been  granted 
to  him  by  the  College  Committee,  the  plan  of  the  ex- 
pedition was  arranged. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stuart 

<GLEN  ELM  LODGE,  June  16,  1883. 

*.  .  .  I  am  going  off  to  Africa  next  Wednesday. 
I  am  going  right  into  the  heart  of  the  country  to 
make  a  scientific  exploration  of  the  Lake  Nyasa 
and  Tanganyika  region.  I  shall  be  away  a  long 
time,  probably  a  year  or  more.  The  whole  scheme 
has  come  upon  me  like  an  avalanche,  and  I  am  in 
a  whirl  of  preparation.' 

He  crossed  the  continent  to  Brindisi,  and  took 
steamer  to  Alexandria,  his  travelling  companion  being 
the  Rev.  James  Bain,  of  the  Free  Church  Livingstonia 

1  Tropical  Africa,  p.  82. 


yEr.  31]  EAST   CENTRAL   AFRICA  1 93 

Mission.  They  found  traces  of  the  bombardment  on 
every  hand,  and  saw  the  battle-field  of  Tel-el-Kebir, 
'still  thick  with  cartridges;  the  desert  all  round  is 
streaked  with  the  marks  of  gun-carriages  as  if  our 
cannon  had  rolled  over  them  yesterday.' 

To  His  Brother 

<S.S.  RAVENNA,  RED  SEA,  July  2d,  1883. 

'  I  take  a  full  course  of  sea-bathing,  and  hope  to 
land  in  Africa  as  strong  as  a  lion.  My  beard 
grows  mightily,  although  I  am  a  terrible  object 
to  be  in  the  cabin  of  a  P.  and  O.  mail.  A  lot  of 
Indian  Government  agriculturists  are  on  board, 
and  I  am  getting  terribly  wise  in  tea,  coffee, 
cinchona,  and  spices.  If  my  wisdom  can  be 
transferred  to  practice,  I  really  think  the  Lakes 
Company  may  yet  get  back  my  expenses.  We 
reach  Aden  to-morrow.  The  Pole  Star  is  sinking 
fast,  and  in  a  day  or  two  I  shall  sight  the  Southern 
Cross.' 

At  Aden,  Bain  and  Drummond  were  joined  by  Dr. 
and  Mrs.  Scott,  of  the  Livingstonia  Mission,  and 
Messrs.  Hedderwick  and  Henderson,  of  Blantyre. 
They  had  a  bad  voyage  to  Zanzibar  through  the  mon- 
soon. Drummond  crossed  the  equator  in  an  ulster.  At 
Zanzibar  he  had  his  first  sight  of  tropical  vegetation, 
and  was  fascinated  with  the  spectacle  of  the  bazaars. 
On  July  26,  after  a  couple  of  days  at  Mo9ambique, 
they  reached  Quilimane,  in  Portuguese  East  Africa. 
Hospitably  entertained  there  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Shearer, 
of  the  Lakes  Company,  they  started  up  the  Qua-qua 
in  shallow  boats  — '  a  splendid  week,  like  a  continual 
picnic,  with  gipsy  breakfasts  and  teas  by  the  river 


194  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1883 

bank' — to  where  a  portage  of  five  miles  brought  them 
to  the  Zambezi  and  the  Company's  steamer. 

From  Quilimane  Drummond  kept  a  full  journal  and 
also  wrote  regularly  to  his  home.  In  Tropical  Africa 
he  has  given  a  charming  sketch  of  his  travels,  of 
the  general  nature  of  the  region  he  crossed,  and  of 
the  geological  discoveries  which  he  made  upon  it. 
Many  of  even  the  most  finished  sentences  and  para- 
graphs of  his  volume  have  been  printed  just  as  they 
stand  in  his  daily  notes.  But  his  diary  contains  a 
great  deal  of  interesting  matter  which  he  did  not 
publish ;  and  besides  giving  this  and  a  general  out- 
line of  his  journeys,  I  have  felt  it  due  to  his  memory 
to  state,  a  little  more  fully  than  he  has  allowed  him- 
self to  do,  the  interesting  and  original  observations  he 
made  upon  the  structure  of  the  African  continent.1 

On  the  voyage  up  the  Qua-qua,  Drummond  noticed 
the  ibises  perching  upon  the  trees — 'which  struck  me 
as  a  peculiarity  in  waders.'  '  The  only  annoyance  was 
the  mosquitoes,  which  were  very  numerous,  but  their 
bark,  I  honestly  confess  for  my  part,  I  find  worse  than 
their  bite.' 

'A  geological  feature  of  considerable  interest  was 
observed  about  half  a  mile  from  Mogurrumba  [about 
fifty  miles  from  the  sea].  Since  leaving  Quilimane 
we  had  seen  nothing  but  mud,  —  mud  black,  mud 
grey,  mud  dry,  mud  wet,  mud  eroded,  mud  in  slopes, 
mud  banks,  mud  channels  —  everywhere  mud,  mud, 
mud.  But,  in  a  high,  clean-cut  bank,  where  the  river 
curved  and  deepened,  this  monotony  was  broken  by 
a  dark-coloured  boss  of  what  appeared  to  be  rock.  It 

1  Tropical  Africa  was  published  in  1884.  Since  then  many  editions  have  been 
sold  of  it;  besides  5000  of  a  small  volume  of  extracts,  entitled  Nyasaland.  A 
German  translation,  Inner- Afrika,  appeared  at  Gotha  in  1890;  second  edition, 
1891.  Translations  into  some  other  European  languages  have  also  been  made, 
but  I  have  not  seen  them. 


Mr.  31]  EAST  CENTRAL  AFRICA  195 

was  but  a  few  yards  in  breadth,  rising  out  of  the  water 
to  a  height  of  some  six  or  eight  feet,  where  it  was 
again  lost  in  the  universal  enswathement  of  clay. 
Had  the  clay  been  anything  else,  and  had  the  place 
been  almost  anywhere  else  but  Africa,  I  should  have 
pronounced  it  a  basalt  dyke.  But  here  this  was  out 
of  the  question,  and  with  some  expectancy  I  watched 
the  natives  pole  towards  the  spot.  A  blow  with  the 
hammer  revealed,  beneath  the  blackened  crust,  a  dull 
reddish  rock,  porous  in  texture,  and  considerably 
decomposed.  There  was  no  doubt  whatever  as  to 
its  nature.  It  was  coral.  Sponges  were  scattered 
through  it  in  considerable  quantity,  as  well  as  other 
organisms  of  smaller  size.  Possibly  this  may  be  the 
old  fringing  reef  of  the  continent.  Nowhere  else  in 
the  Qua-qua  have  I  seen  or  heard  of  any  similar 
exposure.  Senor  Nunes,  the  English  consul  at  Quili- 
mane,  told  me  that  coral  reefs  appeared  in  the  Zambezi 
delta  at  two  places.  Is  there  any  relation  between 
these  three,  and  any  coincidence  of  general  outline 
between  this  ancient  reef  and  the  first  inland  belt  of 
raised  country — the  first  plateau? 

'Aug.  yth,  1883. — Two  or  three  miles  above  Shu- 
panga1  I  noticed  from  the  steamer  two  or  three  thin 
strata  of  what  appeared  to  be  sandstone  rising  above 
the  water-line.  We  had  followed  the  exposure  only 
for  a  few  hundred  yards  when  a  fine  flock  of  guinea- 
fowl  appeared  at  the  water's  edge,  at  which  we  fired, 
and  stopped  the  steamer  to  pick  up  the  slain.  I  had 
thus  time  to  bring  on  board  three  specimens  —  the 
first  a  very  fine  grained  sandstone;  the  second  a  red- 
dish marly  sandstone  also  very  fine;  and  the  third  a 
somewhat  more  highly  siliceous  sandstone  of  a  brick 
red  colour  through  which  were  scattered  small  peb- 

1  On  the  Zambezi. 


196  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1883 

blets  of  quartz.  These  deposits  were  buried  under 
ten  or  fifteen  feet  of  sandy  alluvium.  They  are  only 
visible  for  a  short  distance,  and  if  the  river  had  been 
two  feet  higher,  would  have  been  entirely  concealed. 
I  kept  a  close  look-out  upon  the  banks  all  day,  but 
saw  no  trace  of  rock  until  the  custom-house  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Shire  was  reached.  Near  there  two  or 
three  low  conical  hills  make  their  appearance,  a  fine 
artificial  section  being  obtained  immediately  behind 
the  custom-house.  It  is  a  pure  white  quartz;  not 
quartzite,  but  vein-quartz  apparently.  Distinct  traces 
of  a  matrix  are  visible  in  the  section  —  in  the  shape  of 
small  granitic  or  mica-schistose  masses. 

'  A  low  bar  of  rock  seems  to  stretch  across  the  Shire 
at  the  very  mouth,  but  only  a  few  boulders  near  the 
side  were  above  water.  It  had  the  same  appearance 
as  the  last. 

'  At  the  custom-house  I  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing 
the  geological  structure  of  the  low  conical  hills  which 
anticipate  the  rising  ground  of  the  continent.  Behind 
the  rough  shanty  which  serves  as  the  custom-house  a 
fine  section  is  cut  in  one  of  those  hills.  It  seems  to 
consist  almost  entirely  of  a  pure  white  ungranulated 
quartz.  Traces  of  a  granitic  or  mica-schistose  matrix 
appear  here  and  there,  but  the  great  mass  is  essen- 
tially pure  quartz.  The  next  specimens  were  obtained 
at  Chinga-Chinga,  where  we  anchored  for  the  night. 
I  sent  a  couple  of  men  to  the  hill  on  shore  to  bring 
me  specimens,  which  I  found  to  be  quartz  of  the  same 
kind  as  at  the  custom-house.  The  views  all  the  way 
up  the  river  are  very  fine,  the  valley  being  richly 
wooded,  the  trees  rising  up  all  the  hills,  and  crossing 
even  the  loftiest  parts  of  Morambala. 

'Aug.  8th,  1883.  —  Our  first  stop  was  at  the  south 
end  of  Morambala,1  at  the  Company's  "  station  "  (a  grass 

1  On  the  Shire. 


Mi.  31]  EAST   CENTRAL  AFRICA  197 

shanty)  presided  over  by  a  native  named  "  Sam."  .  .  . 
Great  piles  of  wood  for  the  steamer  are  arranged  on 
the  bank  opposite  Sam's  house,  and  an  hour  was  spent 
in  loading.  I  spent  the  time  with  my  gun  and  ham- 
mer in  a  morning  stroll,  with  a  native  as  guide,  through 
a  mile  or  two  of  the  adjacent  country.  On  every  side 
I  found  a  rather  poor  granitic  soil,  with  boulders  of 
granite  scattered  everywhere.  It  is  a  coarse  grey 
variety. 

'  It  was  about  two  hours'  steam  from  Sam's  when  the 
natives  signalled  to  stop  for  the  projected  visit  to 
the  hot  springs.  We  started  in  single  file,  headed  by 
two  natives,  one  of  whom  carried  a  short  sword  with 
which  he  assisted  in  clearing  a  path  through  the  long 
reeds  lining  the  bank.  We  waded  straight  inland  for 
a  few  hundred  yards  through  grass  and  reeds  which 
were  often  far  over  our  heads,  when  we  struck  a  small 
footpath  running  parallel  with  the  flank  of  Moram- 
bala.  This  we  followed  through  a  country  rich  with 
shrubs,  trees,  and  wild  flowers,  for  about  a  couple  of 
miles,  when  we  reached  the  springs  or  spring,  for  there 
is  only  one.  (Our  exact  time  was  twenty-five  minutes' 
hard  walking.)  There  is  nothing  of  the  geyser-like 
character  about  this  spring.  It  is  a  little  spring  of  the 
usual  kind,  bursting  up  among  the  granite  pebbles, 
and,  but  for  its  temperature  and  chemical  composition, 
might  be  the  head-waters  of  a  highland  burn,  or  one 
of  those  exquisite  fountains  which  bubble  up  among 
the  granite  hills  of  Arran.  Steam  was  being  given 
off  in  small  quantities,  and  a  strong  smell  of  sulphu- 
retted hydrogen  announced  the  presence  of  the  min- 
eral water  at  some  little  distance.  Unfortunately, 
neither  of  my  thermometers  registered  over  150°,  so 
that  I  dared  not  risk  them  in  the  water,  which  was 
plainly  considerably  above  that  temperature.  Proba- 


198  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1883 

bly  Livingstone's  figure,  170°  Fah.,  expresses  the  exact 
truth.  We  found  it  impossible  to  hold  a  ringer  in 
the  water  for  a  single  moment;  but  in  a  pool  some 
twenty  yards  beneath  the  opening  of  the  spring  we 
enjoyed  a  very  agreeable  bath.  .  .  .  The  taste  reminds 
one  of  some  of  the  home  mineral  waters,  such  as 
Bridge  of  Allan,  the  sulphurous  taste  not  being  dis- 
agreeably strong.  The  position  of  the  spring  in 
Ravenstein's  map  is  decidedly  too  far  north.  It  is 
quite  a  mile  or  two  from  the  end  of  Morambala. 
Morambala  is  also  incorrectly  placed,  its  direction 
being  not  due  north  and  south,  but  to  the  west  of 
north.  In  the  Portuguese  map  the  position  is  exactly 
right.' 

The  only  other  facts  not  mentioned  in  the  volume, 
which  are  recounted  in  the  diary,  are  the  tobacco 
manufactured  by  Chipitula,  the  Shire  chief1  —  'capital 
stuff,  a  fine,  mild  tobacco,  if  anything  wanting  in 
strength,  but  extremely  pleasant  to  those  who  prefer 
the  gentler  varieties  of  the  weed ; '  the  female  orna- 
ment known  as  the  pelele  ring,  'a  most  hideous 
fashion,  especially  in  the  older  women,  who  wear  it 
of  the  largest  possible  size. 

'  Conceive  of  a  thick  upper  lip  standing  out  from 
the  face  like  a  shelf.  Let  into  this  is  a  metal  or  ivory 
bone  cup,  its  rim  flush  with  the  surface  of  the  skin. 
The  cup  lies  with  its  open  mouth  turned  upwards  just 
underneath  the  nose,  and  suggests  a  device  for  receiv- 
ing the  drip  from  that  organ  during  a  cold  in  the  head. 
In  the  case  of  one  old  hag  the  pelele  was  quite  as 
large  as,  and  exactly  resembled  in  appearance,  the 
brim  of  the  lowest  segment  of  a  pocket  telescope- 
drinking-cup.' 

On  August  1 1   the  party  halted   at  the   river-side, 

1  Tropical  Africa,  p.  21. 


/Ex.  31]  EAST  CENTRAL  AFRICA  199 

where  for  two  seasons  Chipitula's  people  have  come 
to  manufacture  salt.  The  natives  tried  to  hide  from 
the  white  men  the  locality  of  the  soil  from  which  they 
extracted  the  brine ;  but  a  troop  of  women  coming  in 
laden  with  the  soil,  and  '  the  natives,  seeing  the  clue 
to  the  mystery  was  in  our  hands,  accepted  the  situa- 
tion with  great  merriment,  and  a  boy  was  despatched 
to  conduct  us  to  the  spot. 

'  There  are  two  characteristics  of  the  natives.  They 
are  full  of  secrets.  Of  the  white  man  they  stand  in 
constant  awe,  which  in  practical  matters  becomes  sus- 
picion, and  makes  them  continually  on  their  guard  in 
case  he  should  take  some  advantage  of  them.  Ac- 
cordingly they  always  refuse  to  give  him  information 
when  the  object  for  which  the  inquiries  are  asked  is 
not  perfectly  patent  to  them.  In  this  case  no  amount 
of  explanation  could  have  given  them  any  satisfaction, 
and  it  would  have  been  impossible  to  drive  the  idea 
out  of  their  heads  that  we  either  wanted  to  make 
salt  ourselves  or  would  work  some  charm  upon  it 
which  would  spoil  the  supply  for  them  for  all  time  to 
come.  The  second  peculiarity  is  their  fondness  for 
everything  in  the  shape  of  a  joke.  The  unexpected 
procession  of  salt-bearers,  whose  whole  appearance 
showed  that  they  had  only  travelled  a  short  distance 
at  the  very  moment  they  were  protesting  the  salt  came 
from  far  on  the  other  side  of  the  river,  was  plainly  a 
case  of  "  caught,"  and  like  children  they  simply  laughed 
heartily  all  round. 

'SUNDAY,  Aug.  i2th.  —  On  the  Shire  above  Ka- 
tunga's,  the  terminus  of  the  steamer's  voyage,  and 
beginning  of  the  road  of  sixty-five  miles  up  the  Shire 
cataracts. 

'  The  valley  here  is  fine  and  rich,  and  heavy  crops 
might  be  expected.  On  reaching  the  edge  of  the  val- 


2OO  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1883 

ley  the  hills  begin  to  rise  at  once,  and  one  has  a  good 
climb  for  the  next  three-quarters  of  an  hour(?).  The 
rock  is  granite  (grey)  and  gneiss,  and  a  few  yards  from 
the  plain  the  geological  eye  is  refreshed  by  the  sight 
of  a  good,  honest  whin  dyke.  It  ran  right  up  the  hill, 
about  a  yard  wide,  with  the  prismatic  structure  well 
developed.  I  find  this  only  the  precursor  of  many 
other  dykes,  some  of  considerable  size,  and  the  amount 
of  basalt  strewn  over  the  hills  almost  surprised  me.  It 
seemed  to  have  left  its  influence  on  the  soil  even  more 
than  the  granite  in  many  places  where  the  underlying 
rock  was  undoubtedly  granite.  The  stain  of  iron  quite 
colours  the  soil  over  all  these  hills.  I  should  describe 
these  lower  hills  as  consisting  of  granite  and  gneiss, 
riddled  with  basalt  dykes  of  the  ordinary  type.  (This 
applies  to  the  entire  section  as  far  as  Blantyre  and 
onward.) ' 

On  the  1 3th,  in  good  health,  none  of  them  having 
had  the  least  touch  of  fever,  the  travellers  reached 
Mandala,  a  station  of  the  Lakes  Company,  and  were 
welcomed  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  Moir  to  their  house, 
'  the  largest  for  some  hundreds  of  miles  on  the  one 
side  and  some  thousands  of  miles  on  the  other.  The 
Blantyre  mission  is  a  mile  off.'  At  Mandala,  Drum- 
mond  had  to  wait  a  month,  as  the  Lake  Nyasa  steamer 
had  just  started  for  the  north  and  could  not  return 
within  that  time.  He  spent  part  of  the  interval  in  the 
excursion  to  Lake  Shirwa,  or  Chilwa,  described  in 
the  second  chapter  of  his  volume. 

His  companions  were  Messrs.  Hedderwick  and 
Henderson  of  the  Blantyre  mission ;  they  had  a  small 
caravan  of  ten  porters,  an  interpreter,  a  boy  cook, 
and  a  youth  whom  Drummond  constituted  his  body- 
servant. 


JET.  32]  EAST  CENTRAL  AFRICA  2OI 

To  His  Mother 

'  Sept.  5th,  1883. 

*.  .  .  At  Zomba  on  the  Sabbath  we  had  a  service 
for  the  natives  —  the  real  Missionary  Record 
kind  of  thing;  white  men  with  Bibles  under  a 
spreading  tree,  surrounded  by  a  thick  crowd  of 
naked  natives.  We  sang  hymns  from  a  hymn-book 
in  the  native  tongue  to  Scotch  psalm  tunes,  and 
then  spoke  through  an  interpreter.  Unfortunately 
the  service  was  brought  to  rather  an  abrupt  con- 
clusion. I  had  just  finished  speaking  when  a 
tremendous  shriek  rose  from  the  crowd,  and  the 
congregation  dispersed  in  a  panic  in  every  direc- 
tion. A  huge  snake  had  fallen  from  the  tree 
right  into  the  thick  of  them.  A  bombshell  could 
not  have  done  its  work  faster,  but  no  one  was 
hurt,  and  the  beast  disappeared  like  magic  be- 
neath some  logs.  The  snakes  rarely  do  harm, 
and  I  have  never  heard  of  a  serious  case.' 

From  Mandala,  on  September  loth,  he  wrote  his 
father  in  strong  praise  of  the  Blantyre  Mission,1  and 
of  the  Company's  treatment  of  the  natives,  and  the 
letter  concludes  thus :  — 

4  Summer  has  well  begun  here,  but  I  have  never 
felt  the  heat.  I  am  thankful  to  say  also  that  my 
health  is  better  than  it  has  been  for  a  long  time, 
and  I  have  no  doubt  I  shall  be  better  every  way 
for  this  long  and  strange  break.  If  all  goes  well 
this  expedition  will  be  of  life-long  service  to  me 
in  my  college  work,  and  I  hope  also  I  may  have 
a  voice  some  day  in  our  Foreign  Missionary  Com- 
mittee.' 

1  Tropical  Africa,  p.  124. 


2O2  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1883 

After  some  delay  two  hundred  carriers  were  engaged 
for  the  portage  to  the  steamer,  and  on  September  1 1 
Drummond  started  with  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Scott  and  Mr. 
Bain.  The  Lake  and  the  voyage  upon  it  are  described 
in  the  second  chapter  of  Tropical  Africa.  But  the 
following  are  some  extracts  from  his  journal  not  in- 
cluded there :  — 

'  1 2th  Sept.  —  Matope  being  honoured  with  a  place 
in  the  map,  we  expected  to  find  a  centre  of  some 
importance.  The  reality  is  a  few  grass  huts  on  the 
river-flat.  Its  interest  for  us  was  centred  in  two  slen- 
der white  poles  rising  above  the  largest  of  the  huts  — 
the  Company's  store  —  which  we  rightly  conjectured 
to  be  the  masts  of  the  Ilala.  We  were  welcomed 
on  board  by  Mr.  Harkiss,  and  found  lunch  spread  for 
us  inside  the  hut.  The  river  looked  tempting  for  a 
bathe,  but  in  the  Shire  generally  the  attentions  of  the 
crocodiles  are  too  assiduous  to  risk,  and  this  place  is 
particularly  infamous.  The  natives  are  afraid  even  to 
stand  near  the  water's  edge,  and  the  villagers  have  to 
get  all  their  supplies  of  water  by  scooping  it  up  in 
pumpkin  ladles  with  a  handle  of  bamboo  cane  some 
eight  feet  long.  I  saw  the  tsetse  fly  here  for  the  first 
time.  It  is  found  on  the  Mandala  road  as  far  as  the 
Luangwa  [?].  But  for  this  we  should  have  been  helped 
on  our  way  by  the  Mandala  donkeys,  which  dare  not 
venture  in  this  direction  more  than  a  few  miles  from 
Blantyre,  though  they  go  to  Katunga's  with  impunity. 
We  went  to  sleep  to-night  amidst  a  perfect  chorus  of 
hippopotami.  Their  heads  were  rising  like  buoys  all 
up  and  down  the  river  —  the  female  a  red  buoy,  the 
male  black.  Shooting  at  these  ironclads  with  any 
ordinary  rifle  is  simply  a  waste  of  ammunition.  On 
her  last  voyage  some  got  between  the  Ilala  and  the 


/ET.  32]  EAST  CENTRAL  AFRICA  203 

bank  while  moored  close  in  shore,  and  at  a  few  paces' 
distance  two  bullets  from  an  "  Express  "  were  sent  into 
parts  that  ought  to  have  been  vital,  but  the  animal 
waded  coolly  ashore  and  disappeared  as  if  nothing  had 
happened.  Their  vocal  performances  are  somewhat 
stale  by  this  time,  and  are  by  no  means  musical.  First 
the  creature  slowly  heaves  his  square  skull  above 
water  and  gives  vent  to  a  tremendous  sniff,  as  if  he 
had  just  caught  a  severe  cold  in  the  head.  This 
seems  to  relieve  his  vocal  organs  of  a  considerable 
quantity  of  water,  and  he  straightway  proceeds  to  fill 
the  vacancy  with  air.  This  he  draws  in  with  a  series 
of  terrific  grunts  suggestive  of  a  huge  trombone 
worked  by  a  blast  furnace,  and  sufficiently  startling 
when  heard  at  close  quarters.  The  performance  con- 
cludes by  the  creature  raising  himself  bodily  in  the 
water  almost  up  to  the  middle,  and  this  achieved  he 
sinks  out  of  sight  with  a  sudden  plunge. 

1  My  beard  is  now  of  age,  and  I  look  very  old  and 
important. 

•THURSDAY,  i3th  Sept.  —  The  Ilala  was  off  by 
ten,  with  thirty  on  board,  all  told.  This  included 
our  own  party  —  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Scott,  and  Mr.  Bain ; 
seven  boys  from  Bandawe  who  had  been  sent  by  Dr. 
Laws  to  be  vaccinated  at  Blantyre  (the  lymph  at  Ban- 
dawe being  exhausted  and  smallpox  raging);  seven 
men  who  are  to  accompany  me  to  Tanganyika;  Jingo, 
Chessiemaleera,  Mrs.  Scott's  native  maid,  Mr.  Har- 
kiss,  Mr.  Wells,  "Bandawe,"  the  "steward,"  native 
deck  hands,  stokers,  etc. 

'Two  or  three  hours'  steaming  brought  us  to  Pimbe, 
where  limestone  is  said  to  be  found.  It  is  being 
tried  just  now  at  Mandala;  and  as  I  was  anxious  to 
see  it  in  situ,  I  got  a  native  to  take  me  to  the  place. 
We  struck  across  a  flat  at  the  back  of  the  small 


2O4  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1883 

village  for  half  a  mile,  and  then  reached  a  low  range 
of  hills  running  almost  parallel  to  the  river,  and  a 
few  miles  in  length.  We  skirted  the  base  of  these 
for  another  half-mile  and  then  crossed  a  small  wood 
ridge  into  a  dry  watercourse  occupying  a  valley  of 
some  little  depth.  Among  the  boulders  of  this  dried 
"  burn  "  blocks  of  limestone  were  scattered  in  con- 
siderable quantity.  The  surrounding  rock  was  gneiss, 
but  the  bed  of  limestone  could  not  have  been  far  off, 
as  the  hills  were  of  small  size.  I  did  not  wish  to 
detain  the  steamer,  or  would  certainly  have  followed 
it  up  to  the  limestone.  It  is  a  dazzling  white  marble 
with  black  mica  in  small  spangles  scattered  through 
it.  In  the  bed  of  the  stream  I  also  found  blocks  of 
fine  basalt,  and  a  good  deal  of  quartz  was  lying  all 
over  the  hills. 

'  1 4th  Sept.  —  Towards  the  head  of  Lake  Pomalombe 
the  hills  approach  on  the  east  side.  Large  trees  clothe 
the  flats  along  their  bases,  among  them  a  number  of 
fan-palms,  but  few  of  any  size.  The  few  miles  of 
winding  river  between  Lake  Pomalombe  and  Nyasa 
traverse  a  country  of  great  beauty.  The  baobab, 
tamarind,  and  fan-palm  grow  in  profusion,  and  shelter 
one  or  two  of  the  largest  villages  I  have  yet  seen  in 
Africa.  One  of  the  largest  of  these  is  M'Ponda's, 
exquisitely  situated  among  trees  on  the  slope  of  the 
west  bank.  A  bold  spur  of  red  granite  on  the  oppo- 
site side  runs  to  within  half  a  mile  of  the  water's  edge. 
Behind  this  are  ranges  of  low  hills,  succeeding  one 
another  in  an  unbroken  line  as  far  as  the  eye  can 
reach.  A  similar  range  rises  in  the  distance  behind 
M'Ponda.  As  it  stretches  away  northward  the  hills 
increase  into  the  mountains  which  mark  the  south- 
west end  of  Lake  Nyasa,  and  under  a  spur  of  which 
nestles  Livingstonia.  We  passed  through  this  on  a 


JEr.  32]  EAST  CENTRAL  AFRICA  2O5 

fine  afternoon,  the  cool  breeze  from  the  distant  lake 
tempering  the  heat  and  giving  to  the  whole  journey 
the  aspect  of  a  tour  among  the  English  lakes.  But 
for  the  difference  in  the  vegetation,  palpable  only  at 
close  quarters,  the  sudden  apparition  of  a  hippopota- 
mus crossing  the  steamer's  bows,  or  the  spectacle  of 
a  naked  savage  fishing  in  his  canoe,  there  is  nothing 
in  the  general  surroundings  of  the  upper  Shire  to 
remind  one  that  he  is  out  of  Europe.  The  villages, 
however,  are  certainly  unlike  anything  one  has  ever 
seen  before.  There  is  one  above  M'Ponda's,  occupy- 
ing nearly  half  a  mile  of  the  river-bank.  The  huts 
are  huddled  together  for  the  most  part  without  any 
attempt  at  order,  a  few  being  reduced  to  something 
like  neatness  by  a  high  stockade,  which  gives  in  the 
distance  to  the  whole  the  appearance  of  an  English 
cottage  with  its  garden.  At  close  quarters,  however, 
the  huts  are  more  like  the  moss  summer-houses  one 
finds  in  country  seats  than  human  habitations.  They 
are  all  of  the  same  toadstool  pattern,  and  miniature 
toadstools  are  often  built  at  the  side  to  form  barns. 
Smaller  toadstools  still  are  built  on  high  piles  and 
connected  with  the  ground  by  rude  ladders.  These 
are  the  fowl-houses,  which  have  to  be  garrisoned  in 
this  fashion  for  fear  of  leopards,  wild-cats,  hyenas, 
and  other  beasts  of  prey. 

'  1 6th  Sept.  —  At  ten  native  service  in  the  school; 
large  turnout  of  natives  and  my  men  from  Ilala. 
Mr.  Harkiss  conducted,  and  gave  an  address.  After 
dinner  we  went  to  a  native  funeral.1  The  cortege  had 
come  a  couple  of  miles,  and  were  waiting  for  the 
white  men  under  some  trees.  They  consider  it  a 
great  honour  to  have  white  men  present  on  such  an 
occasion,  and  have  been  used  to  it  in  the  mission 

1  Cf.  Tropical  Africa,  p.  155. 


2O6  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1883 

days.  The  body  —  a  native  in  his  prime  —  was  merely 
wrapped  in  calico  (his  own  suit),  and  placed  in  two 
palm-mats,  formed  into  a  litter  with  two  rough 
branches,  and  carried  by  four  men.  The  burial-place 
was  the  wood  behind  the  station  at  the  rise  of  the 
hill.  The  funeral  itself  was  interesting  as  a  mixture 
of  the  heathen  and  Christian  mode  of  sepulture.  Had 
it  been  in  the  old  days  it  would  have  been  very  dif- 
ferent, but  the  whole  of  the  tribes  are  gradually 
"reverting  to  type."  The  grave  was  at  least  ten  feet 
deep  by  eight  in  length.  Some  sixty  natives  stood 
round  about,  an  equal  number  of  women  remaining  in 
the  background  about  fifty  yards  off.  Two  long  strips 
of  bark  were  laid  across  the  grave  —  a  copy  and 
reminiscence  of  the  ropes  used  by  the  English.  These 
ropes  were  held  by  four  natives  while  the  body  was 
slowly  lowered.  This  was  done  with  great  decorum, 
and  up  to  this  point  the  funeral  might  have  been  that 
of  an  Englishman  conducted  by  his  countrymen. 
But  now  commenced  the  heathen  or  native  ceremonies. 
First,  the  dead  man's  two  knives  were  handed  down 
to  the  two  men  who  stood  beside  the  corpse  in  the 
unfilled  grave.  These  were  placed  beside  the  body. 
His  bow  and  arrows  followed  —  the  bow  with  the  bow- 
string cut  across  with  a  knife,  a  most  touching  symbol. 
Then,  with  some  ceremony,  his  pipe,  the  long  stem 
covered  with  blue  and  white  beads,  was  laid  beside 
his  head.  Next  followed  a  large  calabash  cooking- 
vessel,  a  smaller  one  with  a  handle  used  as  a  drinking- 
cup,  two  baskets  —  one  large  and  one  small.  These 
were  arrayed  about  the  body.  About  a  foot  above 
the  body  a  groove  was  cut  in  the  earth  all  round, 
and  into  this  were  then  fitted  a  number  of  strong 
sticks.  These  were  then  covered  with  leaves  and 
twigs,  and  all  was  ready  for  the  soil  to  be  thrown  in. 


/Ex.  32]  EAST  CENTRAL  AFRICA  2OJ 

The  mounds  of  earth  were  slowly  scraped  in  with  the 
small  native  hoes,  assisted  by  a  shovel  borrowed  from 
the  Mission.  When  all  was  finished  two  field  baskets 
were  broken  up  with  an  axe  and  thrown  upon  the 
grave.  By  this  time  I  began  to  realise  what  all  this 
meant.  It  was  the  burial  with  the  dead  of  all  his 
earthly  possessions.  This  man  probably  owned  not 
another  article  in  the  world.  I  never  realised  so  much 
as  here  the  absolute  simplicity  of  the  native  life.  Even 
the  unsmoked  tobacco  was  to  be  laid  over  his  ashes. 
It  was  strewn  near  a  small  fire  kindled  under  a  tree, 
but  when  we  tried  to  find  out  the  exact  mode  in  which 
it  was  to  be  disposed  of  the  information  was  refused. 
Chimlolo  told  us  they  would  come  back  and  finish 
that  part  of  the  ceremony  when  we  had  gone.  No 
word  was  spoken  by  the  natives  of  the  nature  of 
a  service.  They  were  mostly  grave,  sober-looking 
men  in  middle  life,  and  the  faces  of  some  were 
fine  and  intelligent.  A  white  man's  funeral  in  Scot- 
land could  scarcely  have  been  attended  by  more  intel- 
ligent-looking men,  and  one  could  not  help  feeling 
keenly  for  them  in  what  they  lacked.  All  the  native 
graves  around  had  their  pots  and  baskets  over  them 
—  some  had  empty  cases  from  the  English  —  all 
holed. 

'  Chimlolo,  on  this  occasion,  was  dressed  in  his  best 
Sunday  clothes,  and  nothing  could  illustrate  better 
the  folly  of  encouraging  the  natives  to  don  European 
garments.  He  had  on  an  ancient  and  discoloured 
tweed  coat  over  his  naked  body,  a  pair  of  rough  pilot- 
cloth  trousers  over  his  naked  feet,  and  on  his  head  a 
faded  green  helmet,  which  bore  the  legend  "3ist  Lan- 
arkshire Rifle  Volunteers."  Yesterday,  with  his  fine 
frame  wrapped  in  his  robes,  he  looked  every  inch  a 
chief.  To-day  he  was  a  perfect  object.  He  resembled 


2O8  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1883 

nothing  so  much   as  the  negro  loafers  who  lounge 
about  the  quays  in  the  Southern  States.' 

On  the  i Qth  September  the  Ilala  reached  Bandawe, 
the  central  mission  station  of  the  Free  Church  of 
Scotland.  Drummond's  visit  and  the  communion 
service  in  which  he  participated  are  described  in 
Tropical  Africa} 

To  his  Father 

'KARONGA'S,  N.  END  OF  LAKE  NYASA, 
Sept.  28,  1883. 

' .  .  .  We  stayed  at  Bandawe  from  Thursday  at  mid- 
night till  Monday  at  midday.  .  .  .  Dr.  Laws  goes 
home  in  a  month.  He  has  been  seven  years  here 
without  a  break,  and  much  needs  a  holiday.  .  .  . 
The  native  service  on  Sunday  was  a  grand  sight. 
Five  or  six  hundred  were  present,  all  squatting 
on  the  ground  and  listening  with  all  their  might. 
I  had  the  pleasure  of  talking  to  them  a  lot,  Dr. 
Laws  translating.  There  was  also  a  good  Sunday- 
school  and  an  English  service  in  the  evening, 
which  I  took.  These  were  sad  days  for  the 
Mission,  however.  The  steamer  had  gone  round 
to  a  bay  twenty  miles  up  the  coast  for  repairs,  and 
came  back  on  Saturday  with  the  flag  floating  at 
the  half-mast.  All  knew  that  this  meant  death, 
and  a  crowd  gathered  on  the  beach.  It  was  too 
stormy  for  a  landing,  and  no  boat  or  canoe  could 
venture  out,  so  we  waited  in  suspense.  At  length 
a  board  was  hoisted,  on  which  the  telescope  was 
at  once  focussed.  In  chalk  we  read  the  words, 
"  Mr.  Stewart"  The  steamer  had  met  some  na- 
tives coming  down  the  Lake  shore  from  here, 
and  they  brought  the  news.  Mr.  Stewart's  name 

1  Page  148. 


.  32]  EAST  CENTRAL  AFRICA  2  09 

you  must  have  heard.  He  is  a  civil  engineer, 
and  was  at  the  head  of  the  operatives  on  Mr. 
James  Stevenson's  road  from  here  to  Tangan- 
yika. He  laid  out  Livingstonia,  Blantyre,  and 
Bandawe,  and  has  been  a  foremost  figure  in 
mission  work  in  Africa  for  several  years.  He  is 
a  cousin  of  Dr.  Stewart  of  Lovedale.  On  reach- 
ing this  place,  we  found  the  flag  on  the  store  also 
half-mast,  so  we  knew  it  was  too  true.  He  died 
of  a  complaint  contracted  by  a  residence  in  India 
—  jaundice.  He  lies  near  where  I  write,  under 
a  huge  baobab  tree.  He  chose  the  spot  himself 
only  six  weeks  before  for  the  captain  of  the  Ilala, 
over  whom  he  read  the  burial  service,  one  other 
white  man  only  being  present.  One  of  the  Com- 
pany's men  had  to  do  the  same  service  for  him. 
I  was  looking  forward  with  great  pleasure  to 
meeting  him  here.  He  has  few  relations  living, 
only  a  sister,  Mrs.  Vartan  of  Nazareth. 
'  We  were  from  Monday  to  Thursday  in  getting 
here.  This  included  a  whole  day  on  shore  cut- 
ting wood.  The  men  are  now  busy  unloading 
our  things,  and  I  think  I  shall  get  under  way 
to-morrow.  Bain  may  possibly  wait  here  for  a 
fortnight  yet,  as  things  are  not  quite  ready  for 
him  at  Mweni-wanda.  But  if  he  came,  he  would 
only  accompany  me  some  fifty  miles  farther.  He 
is  very  well  and  in  capital  spirits.  His  manse 
will  be  something  to  look  forward  to  on  his  home- 
ward march.  My  caravan  is  almost  ready  for 
the  start.  I  brought  twenty  men  with  me  in  the 
steamer,  and  will  not  need  many  more.  Some 
were  brought  from  Mandala,  the  rest  from  Ban- 
dawe. Dr.  Laws  has  given  me  one  of  his  best 
natives  to  act  as  captain  over  the  men.  "James" 


2IO  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1883 

is  a  really  trustworthy  man,  and  I  am  very  fort- 
unate in  having  got  him,  though  he  knows  no 
English.  He  was  one  of  three  natives  who  sat 
down  to  the  Lord's  Table  with  us  on  Sabbath 
last  at  Bandawe.  I  have  got  a  thoroughly  good 
tent  and  any  quantity  of  provisions  and  calico 
(money),  and  I  think  the  journey  will  be  most 
enjoyable.  After  this  is  over,  I  shall  track  home- 
wards as  rapidly  as  possible.' 

Drummond  started  from  Karonga's  on  Septem- 
ber 29,  and  began  his  tramp  northwards  across  the 
plateau  towards  Lake  Tanganyika.  He  left  white 
men  behind  him.  He  had  a  caravan  of  twenty-eight 
blacks,  including  his  three  faithfuls  —  Jingo,  Moolu, 
and  Seyid.  Not  one  could  speak  a  word  of  English. 
'  They  belonged  to  three  different  tribes,  and  spoke  as 
many  languages ;  the  majority,  however,  know  some- 
thing of  Chinyanja,  the  Lake  language,  of  which  I  also 
had  learned  a  little,  so  we  soon  understood  each  other.' 
Drummond  has  given,  in  Chapter  V.  of  Tropical  Africa, 
some  extracts  from  his  diary  on  this  journey,  illustra- 
tive of  his  general  experiences.  The  following  addi- 
tions are  taken,  some  from  the  same  source,  others 
from  his  letters  home. 

After  entering  the  fringe  of  hills,  bordering  the 
higher  lands  as  described  on  page  92  of  Tropical 
Africa,  he  took  some  geological  notes. 

'Sept.  29th.  —  A  herd  of  cows  browsing  along  the 
banks  and  the  newly  cut  road  give  to  this  part  quite  a 
homelike  character.  For  about  two  miles  the  road 
winds  along  with  the  stream  through  a  richly  wooded 
valley.  The  mark  of  the  pick  is  still  fresh  upon  the 
great  rocks  which  flank  the  narrow  glen,  and  here  are 


Mi.  32]  EAST   CENTRAL  AFRICA  211 

not  only  the  best,  but  the  only  artificial,  geological  sec- 
tions in  Central  Africa.  The  hills  rise  high  above  the 
river  on  either  side,  and  their  structure  is  evident  from 
a  hundred  well  engineered  bits  of  the  road  as  it  cuts 
room  for  itself  alongside  the  river  channel.  A  fine 
study  in  metamorphic  rocks.  (Bits  of  mica-schist  of 
many  varieties  alternate  with  bands  of  quartzite  ?) 
These  beds  are  all  thin,  seldom  more  than  a  few  yards, 
and  are  pitched  at  a  very  high  angle,  in  several  places 
being  all  but  vertical.  Gneiss  also  gradually  appears, 
and  the  different  rocks  alternating  repeatedly  add  con- 
siderable variety  to  the  section.  Scarcely  two  of  the 
beds  are  alike.  Here  is  a  coarse  schist  (granite  ?) 
with  plates  of  black  mica  three  inches  in  length.  Next 
it  a  band  of  the  most  pellucid  quartzite.  A  variegated 
bed  of  waving  gneiss  follows,  to  be  succeeded  by  a 
schist  (granite),  in  which  the  flakes  of  mica  are  so 
small  as  only  to  be  distinguishable  by  their  mass. 
(Others  of  the  schists  are  strongly  talcose  ?)  The 
quartzites  run  through  every  shade  from  white  to  iron 
brown,  one  very  beautiful  variety  being  a  delicate 
salmon  pink.  I  describe  these  thus  minutely,  for  in 
another  year  or  two  the  geologist  may  look  for  them 
in  vain,  or  only  expose  a  fresh  section  with  much  labour. 
All  these  varieties  may  be  found  within  half  a  mile, 
and  probably  a  hundred  yards  might  be  found  in  which 
the  whole  series  was  represented. 

'  Sept.  3Oth.  —  Rested  all  day,  being  Sabbath.  Held 
service  in  the  morning  with  the  men.  They  gathered 
in  front  of  my  tent  after  breakfast,  I  sitting  on  a  box 
at  the  door.  Gave  out  a  hymn  verse  by  verse,  from 
Dr.  Laws's  book,  three  or  four  joining  in  the  singing 
to  the  tune  of  "  Scots  wha  hae  "  (!).  I  then  read  the 
Lord's  Prayer  in  Chinyanja,  the  natives  repeating  as 
they  have  been  taught  at  the  Mission  service.  Then 


212  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1883 

James  gave  a  short  address  which  I  should  have  given 
a  great  deal  to  have  fully  understood.  We  then  sang 
another  hymn,  "  Come  to  the  Saviour " ;  I  offered 
prayer  in  English,  and  James  closed  with  prayer  in 
Chinyanja,  or  rather  Atonga. 

'  This  day  month,  August  3oth,  Mr.  James  Stewart 
died  in  this  place  —  a  hundred  yards,  I  believe,  from 
where  I  write. 

'  WEDNESDAY,  Oct.  3rd.  —  After  crossing  the  valley, 
the  path  —  the  road  is  not  cut  here  yet  —  struck  over 
a  steep  ridge  of  sedimentary  rocks,  coarse  sandstones, 
or  fine  conglomerates,  with  one  or  two  beds  of  lime- 
stone. We  then  descended  into  another  long  and 
narrow  valley  in  which  lay  the  dry  bed  of  a  consider- 
able stream.  The  path  follows  this  for  a  mile,  but 
leaves  it  shortly  after  a  stagnant  pool  is  passed,  the 
road  recommencing  at  this  point.  It  is  freshly  made, 
and  winds  up  the  hill  in  long  sweeping  curves.  Fresh 
exposures  of  purple,  chocolate,  and  dark  red  sandstone 
occur  on  the  roadside.  These  evidently  belong  to 
the  same  series  as  those  in  the  opposite  valley.  They 
are  all  inclined  toward  the  earth  at  an  angle  of  about 
35°.  They  soon  give  place  to  the  old  series  of  gneisses 
and  granites  which  occupy  the  country  now  as  far  as 
Mweni-wanda,  possibly  as  far  as  Tanganyika.  These 
granitised  beds  are  exposed  in  all  the  burns  (all  dry), 
which  are  numerous  along  the  line  of  march.  They 
are  all  pitched  at  a  very  high  angle  —  all  but  vertical. 
Quartz  predominates  apparently  in  the  composition  of 
the  granite,  and  the  path  is  littered  with  quartz  peb- 
bles. In  this  respect  the  rocks  probably  differ  from 
the  Blantyre  beds,  where  there  is  an  unusually  large 
proportion  of  black  mica,  which  accounts  for  the 
greater  fertility  of  the  latter  district.  From  Mara- 
moura  to  Kamera  the  country  cannot  be  described  as 


&r.  32]  EAST  CENTRAL  AFRICA  2  I  3 

poor ;  the  soil  is  thin  and  strong,  covered  with  trees  of 
a  uniform  height  of  about  twenty  feet,  thinly  planted, 
with  grass  and  underwood  not  luxuriant.  Large  trees 
are  absent.  The  general  features  of  the  country  are 
the  same  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach  on  either  side, 
undulating  hills  of  thin  forest  unvaried  by  any  excep- 
tionally distinctive  features.  The  "  billows  "  are  all  well 
rounded,  and  present  their  long  axis  towards  the  lake 
which  receives  their  drainage.' 

Under  the  same  date  occurs  the  following  interest- 
ing note  upon  African  habits:  — 

'After  leaving  the  sandstones  (a  short  distance)  the 
new  road  is  left  to  the  right,  the  men  insisting  on 
striking  across  country,  but  in  reality  the  road  is  only 
made  for  a  few  hundred  yards  farther.  I  do  not  sup- 
pose the  roadway  is  constructed  much  farther,  but  at 
any  rate  it  proved  a  superfluity  in  this  case.  Mr. 
Ross,  one  of  the  engineers  at  work  on  the  road,  told 
me  that  his  own  men  who  had  helped  to  make  it,  in 
taking  him  to  Karonga's  (where  I  met  him,  the  inci- 
dent happened  that  very  morning),  left  the  road  at 
one  point  to  cross  a  hill  by  the  native  path  instead  of 
rounding  it  by  the  road.  He  recalled  them  at  once,  a 
fine  sense  of  loyalty  to  the  undertaking,  but  on  sight- 
ing the  point  of  re-convergence  he  was  disgusted  to 
see  the  tail  of  his  caravan  defiling  into  the  main  road, 
and  now  considerably  in  advance  of  him,  although 
they  were  formerly  too  far  behind  to  hear  the  order. 
These  natives  were  all  carrying  heavy  loads.  Even 
where  they  use  the  road  they  never  vary  their  cus- 
tom of  walking  in  Indian  file,  so  that  a  beaten  path 
exists  in  the  centre  of  the  road  itself.  The  difference 
between  the  English  road  and  the  native's  path  is 
simply  this  —  the  former,  made  with  line  and  level,  is 
straight  in  detail  but  winding  as  a  whole;  the  latter, 


214  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1883 

made  by  naked  feet  and  instinct,  is  winding  in  detail 
but  straight  as  a  whole.  The  native  strikes  a  bee- 
line  to  his  destination,  but  the  exigencies  of  the  case, 
the  avoidance  of  trees,  logs,  and  large  stones,  cause  it 
to  be  irregular  throughout.'1 

On  the  3d  and  4th  of  October  Drummond  noted 
the  almost  entire  absence  of  water  from  the  country 
through  which  he  was  passing,  till  he  struck  the  main 
stream,  an  enticing  little  river,  and  fine  volume  of 
water.  'The  path  crosses  it  at  some  gneiss  blocks. 
I  spent  the  rest  of  the  day  plashing  and  wading  about 
the  river-bed. 

'  Towards  nightfall  a  small  native  caravan  arrived  at 
the  crossing  and  camped  on  the  opposite  bank.  I 
found  it  was  a  sub-chief  under  Mweni-wanda,  whose 
name  is  Wanimaver,  travelling  to  the  coast.  The  old 
fellow  came  across  to  pay  his  respects  to  the  white 
man,  accompanied  by  two  or  three  of  his  counsellors. 
A  native  carried  a  small  stool,  which  he  placed  for 
him  in  front  of  my  tent.  I  did  not  know  the  natives 
enjoyed  this  luxury,  but  probably  the  age  of  the  chief 
demanded  it.  He  told  me  he  was  ill,  and  was  on  his 
way  to  a  medicine  man  at  Karonga's  village.  I  shared 
my  cocoa  with  him,  and  presented  him  with  a  little 
salt  and  a  needle.  He  seemed  much  awed  all  through 
the  interview.  Next  morning  he  was  over  by  daylight 
to  wish  me  good-by.  He  seemed  a  simple,  kindly, 
childlike  old  man,  quite  the  chief  in  appearance. 
His  sole  garment  was  a  maize-coloured  and  faded 
drab  loin  cloth.  His  men,  meantime,  were  up  the 
trees  adjoining  the  river  throwing  down  great  branches, 
with  which  they  soon  made  him  a  very  pretty  bower 
by  the  river's  brink.  The  camp-fire  twinkling  through 
this;  the  native  music  played  before  the  tent — a  sere- 

1  Cf.  Tropical  Africa,  pp.  34-36. 


/Ex.  32]  EAST  CENTRAL  AFRICA  215 

nade  to  the  chief  by  three  voices  and  some  stringed 
instrument ;  the  brawling  river ;  the  young  moon  and 
the  bright  starlight,  —  made  up  a  very  pretty  tableau 
for  my  after-supper  smoke  on  the  grass  by  my  own 
camp-fire.' 

On  Friday,  5th,  he  arrived  at  Kamera,  and  on  the 
6th  at  Mweni-wanda's  village,  and  Chirenje,  'a  future 
Free  Church  station.'  There  he  paid  his  men,  and 
checked  Mr.  Bain's  goods  which  arrived  by  another, 
caravan.  He  stayed  in  the  rough  mission-house  for  a 
week,  shooting,  collecting,  talking  with  Mweni-wanda, 
and  entertaining  Mr.  Griffiths,  of  the  London  Mis- 
sionary Society,  on  his  way  home  from  his  station  on 
Lake  Tanganyika.  On  Friday,  the  i2th,  he  started 
again  and  travelled  that  and  the  next  day  by  the 
Stevenson  road  till  it  stopped  at  1 8^  miles  —  'a  fine 
avenue  through  a  level  or  gently  undulating  country.' 
His  camp  was  at  Zockye's  village.  'After  a  twenty- 
mile  tramp  in  the  sun,  this  village,  with  its  dirty  water, 
its  shocking  sanitary  conditions,  almost  shadeless 
stream,  and  staring  crowds,  was  simple  torture,  and  I 
confess  the  reasons  against  enduring  other  forty  days 
of  it  by  going  on  to  Tanganyika  seemed  at  that 
moment  most  convincing.'  Next  day  he  moved  on  to 
the  camp  beyond  Chewakunda,  where  he  spent  the 
week  so  beautifully  described  on  pages  109  ff.  of  Trop- 
ical Africa.  In  addition  to  the  observations  recorded 
there  he  read  a  number  of  books,  '  Howells's  Undis- 
covered Country,  Old  Mortality,  Miss  Edwards's 
Modern  Poets,  and  much  of  the  Revised  Version.' 
'On  Monday,  ist,  service  as  usual,  James  (Moolu) 
very  eloquent  on  "  Lazarus." '  They  started  (as  Trop- 
ical Africa  says,  page  112)  on  the  22d  and  marched 
northwest.  'This  day  the  tropics  have  dried  up  my 
stylograph.'  The  next  part  of  the  diary  is  in  pencil. 


2l6  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1883 

He  stalked,  shot  at,  and  missed  some  fine  hartbeest. 
He  was  going  to  sit  down,  when,  in  the  very  place  he 
had  chosen,  he 

'  Observed  a  curious  patter  among  the  leaves.  It 
was  a  puff  adder.  I  drew  my  revolver  and  shot  it, 
but  the  brute  slowly  sank  down  the  bank  and  lay 
down,  as  I  thought,  to  die,  by  the  water.  Some 
hours  after,  when  I  sent  for  it,  it  was  gone.  A 
day  or  two  later  my  men  were  frightened  to  death 
by  finding  it  at  the  pool  where  they  drew  water  for 
the  camp.  It  was  still  alive,  but  I  finished  it  with 
another  shot.  It  was  not  very  lengthy,  but  very 
fat  in  the  girth.  The  men  said  it  was  a  python, 
but  I  have  my  doubts,  especially  as  they  also  said 
its  bite  was  certain  death  —  a  fact  which  was  quite 
evident  from  the  shape  of  the  jaws.  It  had  two 
bags  on  the  side  of  its  head  with  poison  enough 
to  kill  a  village.' 

The  journal  for  October  24  and  25  is  fully  given  in 
Tropical  Africa.  Till  the  3oth  they  stayed  (because 
of  the  bearer  wounded  by  the  buffalo)  in  the  same 
'enchanting  camp,'  and  then  'steered  west  and  south- 
west up  a  valley  running  into  the  Lejange,  with  steep 
sides.  The  main  rock  is  gneiss,  but  here  and  at  the 
former  camp  there  are  beds  of  mica  schist,  very  hard 
and  compact  for  schists,  however.'  They  crossed  the 
watershed  of  the  range,  descended  a  little,  and  camped 
eight  miles  from  their  previous  camp  at  about  4900 
feet  above  the  sea.  On  October  31  he  sent  back  to 
Mweni-wanda  for  a  medicine  chest  and  'some  books, 
as  my  small  box  was  read  to  death.  Spent  Monday 
studying  White  Ants.  There  was  much  thunder,  and 
rain  fell  uninterruptedly  from  three  to  six,  but  as  it 
was  not  heavy  my  tent  held  out.' 


Mi.  32]  EAST   CENTRAL  AFRICA  217 

But  the  rainy  season  had  commenced  and  it  was 
time  to  turn.  On  the  24th  of  October  he  had  written 
home :  — 

'  I  started  from  the  Lake  with  thirty-two  men,  most 
of  them  from  a  distance,  but  I  had  to  engage 
some  local  men  to  take  extra  loads.  I  had  the 
universal  fate  of  African  travellers,  for  a  number 
deserted  at  the  first  hill.  I  got  their  places 
filled,  but  gradually  the  local  men  dropped  off, 
and  now  I  have  only  seventeen  left.  These 
are  all  good  men  and  true,  but  I  have  had  to 
leave  many  stores  at  a  log  cabin  at  Mweni-wanda. 
The  crippling  of  my  caravan  made  me  consider 
seriously  whether  I  ought  to  go  the  whole  way 
to  Tanganyika,  and  you  will  perhaps  be  glad  to 
hear  that  I  have  decided  to  turn  now.  I  am 
within  130  or  140  miles  of  it,  but  the  rainy  season 
is  due  immediately  and  I  should  catch  it  coming 
back  in  all  its  fury.  I  have  enjoyed  such  perfect 
health  that  I  do  not  think  it  is  right  to  run  un- 
necessary risk.  I  could  probably  weather  anything 
in  my  tent,  but  my  men  would  suffer  severely. 
They  are  not  accustomed  to  this  high  country, 
and  already  many  of  them  have  had  fever. 
Scarcely  a  day  passes  but  I  have  to  doctor  some 
of  them.  Besides  this,  the  rest  of  the  way  is  just 
the  same  thing  over  again,  and  it  would  be  dreary 
work  toiling  all  the  way  back  over  exactly  the 
same  ground.  All  things  considered,  therefore, 
I  have  resolved  to  wander  slowly  back  to  Nyasa 
and  make  my  way  to  Quilimane  as  the  rain  per- 
mits. I  may  weather  out  the  first  plumps  in  the 
aforesaid  log  cabin,  which  is  to  be  Bain's  manse 
and  where  he  will  now  be.  Word  will  be  sent  there 


2l8  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1883 

when  the  Ilala  arrives  at  Karonga's  to  take  me 
down  the  Lake  again.' 

Besides,  as  he  confessed  afterwards,  he  was  beginning 
to  feel  lassitude  and  depression,  the  precursors  of  fever, 
though  he  did  npt  yet  know  them  as  such. 

On  October  31  they  moved  to  a  deserted  village  and 
felt  safe  from  wild  beasts  behind  its  stockade.  The 
wounded  man  was  still  in  evil  plight.  They  remained 
there  till  November  3,  when  a  letter  came  from  Mr. 
Bain,  with  a  postscript  from  Mr.  Fred  Moir  (returning 
from  Tanganyika),  that  they  would  wait  for  Drummond 
at  Mweni-wanda.  Carrying  the  wounded  man  in  a  litter 
he  reached  Mweni-wanda  on  November  5  and  stayed  till 
the  J4th.  '  Moir  and  Lieutenant  Fully  went  off  to 
shoot  elephants  at  Kimbashi.  Much  tempted  to  go 
with  them.  The  steamer  went  for  their  mails  after 
they  had  been  five  or  six  days  in  the  field.  They 
sent  eighteen  tusks  back,  capital  sport.' 

On  November  15  he  started  for  the  Lake  and  on  the 
1 8th  camped  fifteen  miles  from  it  beside  Mr.  Munro,  the 
engineer  who  was  at  work  on  the  road,  and  Mr.  Bain, 
who  like  himself  was  waiting  for  the  steamer.  It  was 
here  that  he  made  his  discovery  of  fossils  —  he  believes 
'  the  only  fossils  that  had  ever  been  found  in  Central 
Africa.'  They  lay  in  '  thin  beds  of  very  fine  light  grey 
sandstone  and  blue  and  grey  shales,  with  an  occasional 
band  of  grey  limestone  —  but  especially  in  the  shale, 
one  layer  being  one  mass  of  small  Lamellibranckiata. 
Though  so  numerous,  these  fossils  are  confined  to  a 
single  species  of  the  Tellinidce,  a  family  abundantly 
represented  in  tropical  seas  at  the  present  time  and 
dating  back  as  far  as  the  Oolite.  Vegetable  remains 
are  feebly  represented  by  a  few  reeds  and  grasses.' 1 

1  Tropical  Africa,  'A  Geological  Sketch,'  p.  192. 


JET.  32]  EAST  CENTRAL  AFRICA  2IQ 

But  here  is  his  journal :  — 

'MONDAY,  Nov.  igth. —  Terrific  thunderstorm  with 
heavy  rain  broke  out  late  last  night.  I  awoke,  lit  a 
candle,  and  sat  watching  for  the  first  sign  of  leakage 
in  my  tent.  A  trench  had  been  dug  all  round,  but 
the  slope  of  the  road  made  a  perfect  torrent  sweep 
past,  and  I  had  to  keep  building  up  the  banks.  One 
trench  ran  parallel  with  my  bed,  as  the  side  of  the  tent 
was  tilted  aside  to  meet  the  hill,  so  that  I  could  see 
from  where  I  lay  the  brown  torrent  sweeping  sticks, 
leaves,  and  insects  before  it.  The  wind  rose  to  a 
hurricane,  and  I  was  afraid  every  moment  I  would 
be  unroofed  and  left  to  weather  the  storm  in  the 
open.  But  my  tent  behaved  bravely  and  the  com- 
bined elements  failed  to  dislodge  me.  A  few  drops 
only  got  through.  Bain,  who  shared  Munro's  tent, 
was  less  fortunate,  in  spite  of  his  tent  having  a  good 
fly.  The  rain  soon  penetrated  both  fly  and  canvas 
and  flooded  him  out  of  bed  at  midnight.  They  were 
in  a  terrible  plight  all  night,  and  Bain  was  down  with 
fever  in  consequence  a  couple  of  days  after. 

'  On  the  Sunday  morning,  when  sitting  at  breakfast 
on  the  newly  made  road,  I  saw  at  my  feet  a  small  slab 
of  slate  with  markings  which  struck  me  at  once  as 
familiar.  I  eagerly  seized  it,  and  saw  before  me  a  fos- 
sil fish.  I  had  marked  this  very  spot  on  my  way  up 
country  as  a  place  for  a  possible  "  find  "  in  this  direc- 
tion, and  I  had  planned  to  spend  two  or  three  days  here 
fossil-hunting  on  my  way  back.  I  had  little  idea  that 
so  fine  a  section  would  be  waiting  me ;  and  the  road- 
cutting  here  was  a  most  singular  coincidence,  as  this 
was  the  only  mile  of  rock  between  Tanganyika  and 
the  mouth  of  the  Zambezi  where  I  should  have  wished 
such  a  thing,  or  where  I  would  have  expected  to  find 
fossils.  Monday,  therefore,  I  devoted  to  a  regular 


22O  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1883 

fossil-hunt,  but  I  am  sorry  to  say  with  no  very  satisfac- 
tory result  as  far  as  fish  were  concerned.  I  got  sev- 
eral teeth,  however,  innumerable  fish-scales,  and  a  great 
number  of  shells,  these  last  all  belonging  to  a  single 
species.  I  set  all  the  boys  to  work,  and  offered  a  knife 
to  whomsoever  would  bring  me  a  fish,  but  although 
several  of  them  worked  hard  they  all  failed.' 

The  fossil  fish  remains  were  submitted  to  Dr. 
Traquair  of  Edinburgh,  whose  identification  of  them 
is  given  in  full  in  Tropical  Africa,  pages  193-195. 
He  says  of  the  largest :  — 

'.  .  .  Belonging  to  the  order  Ganoidei,  this  fish  is  with 
equal  certainty  referable  to  the  family  Palceoniscidce,  but  its 
genus  is  more  a  matter  of  doubt,  owing  to  the  fragmentary 
nature  of  the  specimen.  Judging  from  the  form  and  thickness 
of  the  scales  I  should  be  inclined  to  refer  it  to  Acrolepis,  were  it 
not  that  the  dorsal  and  anal  fins  seem  so  close  to  the  tail,  and  so 
nearly  opposite  each  other ;  here,  however,  it  may  be  remarked 
that  the  disturbed  state  of  the  scales  affords  room  for  the 
possibility  that  the  original  relations  of  the  parts  may  not  be 
perfectly  preserved.  I  have,  however,  no  doubt  that,  as  a 
species,  it  is  new ;  and  as  you  have  been  the  first  to  bring 
fossil  fishes  from  those  regions  of  Central  Africa,  you  will 
perhaps  allow  me  to  name  it  Acrolepis  (?)  Drummondi. 

'  No.  2  is  a  piece  of  cream-coloured  limestone  with  numer- 
ous minute,  scattered  rhombic,  striated,  ganoid  scales,  which 
I  cannot  venture  to  name,  though  I  believe  them  to  be  palaeo- 
niscid.  .  .  .  Among  these  minuter  relics  is  a  scale  of  much 
larger  size,  and  clearly  belonging  to  another  fish.  A  little  way 
off  is  the  impression  of  the  attached  surface  of  a  similar  scale, 
and  there  are  also  two  interspinous  bones  probably  belonging 
to  the  same  fish.  This  is  probably  also  a  palaeoniscid  scale, 
which  we  may  provisionally  recognise  as  Acrolepis  (?)  Afri- 
canus.  .  .  .  No.  5  is  a  piece  of  grey,  micaceous  shale,  with 
scales  of  yet  a  fourth  species  of  palaeoniscid  fish ;  .  .  .  the 
outer  surface  not  being  properly  displayed,  renders  it  impos- 
sible to  give  a  sufficient  diagnosis.  No.  6  is  a  piece  of  the 


Mr.  32]  EAST  CENTRAL  AFRICA  221 

same  shale  having  the  clavicle  of  a  small  palaeoniscid  fish, 
which  it  is,  however,  impossible  to  name.' 

'These  fossiliferous  beds,'  adds  Drummond,  'seem  to  occupy 
a  comparatively  limited  area,  and  to  have  a  very  high  dip  in 
a  southeasterly  direction.  At  the  spot  where  my  observations 
were  taken  they  did  not  extend  over  more  than  half  a  mile  of 
country,  but  it  is  possible  that  the  formation  may  persist  for  a 
long  distance  in  other  directions.  Indeed,  I  traced  it  for 
some  miles  in  the  direction  in  which,  some  fifty  or  sixty  miles 
off,  lay  the  coal  already  described,1  and  to  which  it  may  possi- 
bly be  related.' 

It  was  in  the  same  camp,  twelve  miles  north  of  Ka- 
ronga's, that  Drummond  made  a  discovery  of  a  very 
different  kind,  and  one  of  greater  personal  interest  to 
himself,  —  the  phenomenal  success  among  his  country- 
men of  his  book  on  Natural  Law,  while  he  had  been 
wandering  in  these  savage  regions. 

'THURSDAY,  Nov.  22d.  —  After  I  had  gone  to  roost, 
sometime  about  midnight  I  was  aroused  by  talking  in 
Munro's  tent.  Could  it  be  the  arrival  of  natives  with 
the  mails  from  the  coast  ?  "  Mails,"  came  in  response 
to  my  shout ;  and  in  a  few  moments  a  boy  came  in  with 
a  huge  packet  of  letters  and  papers.  My  lamp  was  lit 
in  a  twinkling  and  I  was  for  the  next  three  hours  de- 
vouring the  first  news  I  had  had  from  home  for  five 
months.  Letters  from  all  the  family  twice  over,  as  the 
bag  contained  two  months'  despatches.  Spectator  with 
critique  enclosed  —  which  much  surprised  me.  I  had 
almost  forgotten  about  the  book !  Sleep  was  hard  after 
so  much  interesting  news,  and  it  was  early  morning  be- 
fore I  dropped  over.' 

On  the  26th  they  marched  for  Karonga's,  '  Bain  very 
weak  with  fever,  so  our  progress  was  very  slow.'  After 
three  days  at  Karonga's  they  embarked  on  the  Ilala 
on  the  29th,  and  coasted  along  till  opposite  the  re- 

1  Tropical  Africa,  pp.  187,  1 88. 


222  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1883 

ported  coal-bed  south  of  Mount  Waller.  '  Landed  and 
spent  the  afternoon  among  the  coal.  Stewart's  descrip- 
tion is  accurate  as  regards  the  topography,  but  he  is 
wrong  geologically.'  The  matter  is  fully  discussed  in 
Tropical  Africa,  pages  188,  189,  with  the  conclusion 
that  '  the  Lake  Nyasa  coal,  so  far  as  opened  up  at 
present,  can  scarcely  be  regarded  as  having  any  great 
economical  importance,  although  the  geological  inter- 
est of  such  a  mineral  in  this  region  is  considerable.' 
'  Probably,'  he  says  in  his  journal,  '  the  coal  is  a  mere 
fragmentary  portion  thrown  down  by  a  "  fault." ' 

On  November  30  he  was  at  Deep  Bay,  where  they 
slept  on  shore  through  heavy  rain  that  nearly  put  out 
their  carriers'  fires.  '  This  was  about  midnight.  It  is 
wonderful  how  they  manage  to  keep  hold  on  "  motu  " 
(fire)  under  the  most  trying  circumstances.  The  rain 
was  enough  to  quench  anything,  but  they  must  have 
kept  some  embers  screened  in  their  hands,  which  they 
had  carried  to  the  hut  and  back.' 

On  December  i  (with  a  ton  of  ivory  aboard)  they 
anchored  at  Bandawe,  partook  of  the  Lord's  Supper  at 
the  service  next  day  (Sunday),  and  witnessed  the  bap- 
tism of  five  native  converts.  Sailing  down  the  Lake 
with  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Laws  on  board,  they  reached  Ma- 
tope  on  December  8,  and  stayed  there,  waiting  for  car- 
riers, till  the  1 3th,  'killing  time  and  catching  fever.' 
On  the  1 4th  they  camped  in  rain  at  the  first  stream 
to  the  south  of  Matope. 

'  Dec.  1 5th.  —  Off  with  the  sun,  walked  hard  till  10 
o'clock,  when  we  reached  stream  and  took  breakfast. 
Then  all  started  for  Blantyre,  still  10  or  12  miles  off. 
I  was  last  to  leave,  as  I  felt  lazy  —  the  same  inertia 
that  I  had  so  often  felt  up  country,  and  which  I  now 
knew  to  be  incipient  fever.  Lay  down,  with  Jingo  and 
another  of  my  men  with  the  N'tonga,  a  few  hundred 


^)T.  32]  EAST  CENTRAL  AFRICA  223 

yards  from  the  start,  and  rested  quite  two  hours. 
Meantime  a  thunderstorm  was  raging  ahead,  and  the 
rain  threatened  to  reach  us  every  moment.  However, 
we  had  not  a  drop;  but  I  had  not  gone  500  yards 
before  the  ground  became  quite  wet,  and  we  were  soon 
almost  wading  in  the  stream  of  muddy  water  which 
rushed  down  the  path.  Rain  itself  we  had  none. 
There  might  have  been  five  or  six  miles  of  this,  and 
then,  at  the  stream  at  Mulunga's  village,  the  wet 
ground  as  suddenly  ceased.  I  learned  afterwards  that 
Dr.  Laws  and  the  others  had  got  over  this  rain-zone 
before  it  came  on,  and  escaped  quite  dry.  We  both 
must  have  made  a  narrow  escape. 

'  Stopped  at  the  burn  to  make  a  hasty  cup  of  tea, 
and  had  just  finished  when  I  saw  Mr.  Mac II wain 
coming  to  meet  me  on  one  of  the  donkeys.  I  thanked 
him  with  all  my  heart,  and  after  he  had  a  cup  of  tea 
he  walked  by  my  side  into  Blantyre  (four  or  five  miles). 
At  B.  I  was  welcomed  by  Messrs.  Scott,  Henderson, 
Hedderwick,  and  all  the  staff,  and,  after  a  plate  of  soup 
at  the  Manse,  went  on  to  Mandala. 

'SUNDAY,  Dec.  i6th.  —  Felt  rather  lazy  about  going 
to  church,  but,  as  I  wished  to  go,  a  donkey  was  placed 
at  my  disposal,  which  I  accepted.  I  felt  unaccounta- 
bly tired,  but  had  no  other  symptom.  In  the  evening 
I  did  not  go  out,  but,  feeling  rather  knocked  up,  went 
early  to  bed.  Dr.  Laws  insisted  that  I  had  fever;  and 
when  I  took  my  temperature  and  found  it  read  a  degree 
or  two  above  the  normal,  98.6,  I  was  as  much  aston- 
ished as  disgusted.  I  took  no  medicine,  but  heaped 
on  clothes  to  induce  perspiration,  which  came  in  an 
hour  or  two  and  necessitated  two  or  three  changes  of 
pyjamas.  I  had  no  sickness,  but  slight  oppression  and 
headache  of  a  new  variety,  though  not  very  severe. 
Slept  fairly. 


224  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1884 

'  MONDAY,  Dec.  i  yth.  —  My  fever  was  short-lived, 
though  I  kept  my  bed  all  day.  I  fancy  I  might  have 
been  up.  Was  glad  to  get  it  over.  There  seems  now 
no  doubt  that  I  had  a  good  deal  of  fever  up  country 
without  my  knowing  it.  Certainly  I  can  now  account 
better  for  the  want  of  spirit,  want  of  appetite,  laziness, 
weakness,  and  general  limpness  which  I  felt  so  often. 
Indeed,  for  a  month  or  six  weeks,  this  was  almost  my 
normal  state.  Yet,  at  the  time,  I  did  not  realise  the 
extent  of  it,  but  set  it  down  to  sheer  laziness.  No 
doubt  my  cinchonised  condition  helped  me  greatly. 

'TUESDAY,  Dec.  i8th. —  Up  even  to  breakfast, 
though  feeling  a  little  weak  and  top-heavy.  This 
giddiness  remained  all  day.' 

There  had  been  great  illness  at  Blantyre  while 
Drummond  was  up  country,  and  the  only  two  white 
children  in  the  community  had  died.  Drummond 
stayed  a  whole  month  at  Mandala,  hospitably  enter- 
tained by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  Moir,  and  with  out  ad  vent- 
ure or  incident,  save  numerous  cases  of  fever  in  the 
little  colony,  and  the  arrival  of  the  first  consul  ap- 
pointed to  the  region,  Captain  Foote,  R.N.,  and  his 
family.  On  January  15  Drummond  started  down 
stream  for  Katunga's,  where  his  journal  closes.  He 
retraced  his  journey  of  some  months  before,  descended 
the  Shire  and  Zambezi,  crossed  the  portage,  and  came 
down  the  Qua-qua  in  a  boat  with  eight  rowers  to 
Quilimane  —  finding  the  country,  because  of  the  rains, 
in  a  very  different  aspect  from  that  he  had  seen  on  his 
way  up. 

'  My  faithful  Jingo  was  with  me  to  the  last.  I  had 
serious  thoughts  of  taking  him  home,  but  at  last  reluc- 
tantly resolved  to  leave  him  in  Africa,  as  I  felt  sure  he 
would  weary  away  from  his  own  tribe.  He  was  a  most 
useful  servant,  and  every  white  person  I  met  begged 


jEr.  32]  EAST  CENTRAL  AFRICA  225 

me  to  hand  him  over  to  them  when  I  left  the  country. 
Black  servants  very  soon  get  spoiled,  but  my  boy  was 
awarded  first  prize  by  universal  consent.  He  actually 
belonged  to  me  as  long  as  I  was  in  the  country ;  and  if 
I  had  wished  to  keep  him,  I  should  simply  have  had  to 
send  a  few  yards  of  cloth  to  his  chief.  I  was  really 
very  sorry  to  part  with  poor  Jingo,  and  he  looked  very 
lugubrious  over  it  likewise.  He  came  on  board  with 
me,  carrying  my  umbrella  as  his  last  service,  and  I 
took  him  round  the  great  ship.  He  was  utterly  lost 
and  bewildered,  and  I  should  give  a  good  deal  to  hear 
his  report  to  the  natives  up  country  of  all  the  won- 
ders he  saw  at  Quilimane.  It  seems  quite  strange  to 
be  afloat  once  more,  and  I  am  almost  as  bewildered  as 
poor  Jingo ! ' 

From  Quilimane  Drummond  sailed  in  the  Currie 
liner  Dunkeld  to  East  London,  which  he  reached 
on  the  2ist  of  February.  In  South  Africa  he  visited 
King  Williamstown,  Pirie,  and  Lovedale,  the  famous 
mission-station  under  Dr.  Stewart  of  the  Free  Church 
of  Scotland,  where  he  stayed  the  first  half  of  March, 
Fort  Beaufort,  Grahamstown,  Port  Elizabeth,  and 
Uitenhage,  the  home  of  his  old  college  friend  Pater- 
son,  who  died  there  in  1875.  Cape  Town  was  'dirty, 
windy,  and  city-like,'  so  he  went  to  Wynberg  — '  out  of 
sight  the  loveliest  place  I  have  seen  in  South  Africa ' 
—  and  spent  a  fortnight  wandering  about  the  base  of 
Table  Mountain.  There  he  heard  of  the  death  of  the 
Shire  chief  Chipitula,  whom  he  had  visited :  shot  in  a 
quarrel  by  an  English  trader,  who  was  also  killed. 
'  This  is  a  serious  matter  and  may  lead  to  further  dis- 
turbances, as  the  whites  are  all  looked  upon  as  one 
tribe,  and  the  next  European  who  passes  will  have  to 
look  out.  I  do  not  think  the  affair  will  be  carried 
farther  owing  to  circumstances,  but  there  is  no  saying. 


226  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1883-84 

Anyway  I  am  glad  to  be  now  on  the  safe  side  of  it. 
It  is  a  rough  country  up  there,  say  the  best  for  it.'  On 
the  gth  of  April  he  sailed  from  Cape  Town,  and  by 
the  end  of  the  month  was  in  England. 

Central  Africa  left  a  deep  mark  upon  Drummond. 
He  accomplished  his  mission  and  was  able  to  give 
to  the  African  Lakes  Company  a  valuable  report  on 
the  geology  and  resources  of  the  great  country  which 
they  were  administering.  He  added  infinitely  to  his 
knowledge  of  natural  history,  and  did  original  work 
by  his  discovery  of  fossils  and  by  his  observations 
of  the  effect  of  white  ants  upon  soil.1  But  it  was 
not  along  any  of  these  lines  that  the  country  left  its 
chief  influence  upon  him.  He  had  entered  Africa 
in  perfect  health  and  at  the  best  season ;  with  almost 
boyish  glee  he  had  revelled  in  his  journey  of  exciting 
scenes  and  adventures  as  'one  continual  picnic  from 
first  to  last.'  Then  he  met  the  first  European  graves 
—  Mrs.  Livingstone's,  Bishop  Mackenzie's,  the  pathetic 
cemetery  at  Old  Livingstonia.2  He  saw  the  mission- 
aries laid  down  with  fever,  some  like  his  compan- 
ion, the  heroic  Bain,  suffering  in  solitude  hundreds  of 
miles  from  another  white  man.  The  news  of  Stewart's 
sudden  death  smote  him  at  Bandawe.  A  white  mother 
died  in  childbirth — every  white  birth  in  Central  Africa 
up  to  that  time  had  cost  a  life  —  and  the  only  two  Brit- 
ish children  in  the  land  died  while  he  was  up  country. 
In  short,  Drummond  saw  all  the  cruel  sacrifices,  insepa- 
rable from  the  first  heroic  assaults  of  Christianity  upon 
the  heathendom  of  the  Dark  Continent.  He  saw,  too, 
the  slave-trade  in  its  most  ghastly  features,  the  cruel 
Arab  dealer,  the  tracks  dotted  with  human  bones,  the 

1  See  Tropical  Africa,  Chapter  VI.,  'The  White  Ant:  a  Theory.' 
3  Tropical  Africa,  pp.  15,  16,  22,  23,  41-45.' 


,ET.  32]  EAST  CENTRAL  AFRICA  22 7 

stockades  with  human  heads  impaled  on  them.  Then 
came  his  own  fits  of  lassitude  and  depression,  attacks 
of  fever  in  his  tent  under  the  pitiless  rain,  and  a 
month  of  weakness  and  inertia.  All  this  marked  him 
for  life.  When  he  returned  to  Scotland  we  noticed  a 
splash  of  grey  hair  upon  his  head.  And  although  be- 
yond this  he  seems  to  have  suffered  from  his  African 
travel  no  other  physical  injury,  there  is  little  doubt  that 
his  spirit  was  affected  by  all  he  had  seen  and  suffered. 
This  is  visible  between  his  letters  on  arriving  and 
his  letters  on  leaving  the  Continent.  It  coloured  his 
views  on  certain  aspects  of  life  and  religion.  Up  till 

1883  Drummond  had  never  suffered  personally,  except 
from  the  long  trial  of  uncertainty  with  regard  to  his 
vocation.     He   had   never  known  loneliness.     Death 
had  not  come  into  his  family,  and  hardly  within  his 
sight.     To  a  friend  who  had  lost  a  little  nephew  in 
1877  he  had  said,  '  I  cannot  write  on  these  things,  for 
I  know  little  of  their  reality  or  awful  mystery.'    But  in 
Africa  he  learned  to  know.     When  on  his  work  with 
Moody  he  had  almost  fiercely  resented  the  statement 
of  a  speaker  that  suffering  was  inseparable  from  Chris- 
tian service.     But  now  he  knew  that  it  was  so ;  and  I 
do  not  think  it  is  a  fault  of  memory  to  say  that  from 

1884  onwards  there  came  upon  his  always  pure  and 
sympathetic  temper  a  certain  tinge  of   sadness  with 
which  we  had  not  been  able  to  associate  him  in  pre- 
vious years.     Upon  his  return  to  Scotland  he  said  to 
a  friend,  '  I've  been  in  an  atmosphere  of  death  all  the 
time.' 


CHAPTER   IX 

THE  FAME  OF  NATURAL  LAW 

WHILE  Drummond  was  in  Central  Africa  his  book 
achieved  a  most  amazing  popularity.  No  one  was 
more  amazed  at  it  than  himself.  He  had  left  Eng- 
land within  a  week  of  its  publication,  in  June,  1883, 
and  was  beyond  all  news  till  the  following  November. 
Then  suddenly,  one  midnight,  between  Nyasa  and 
Tanganyika,  a  bundle  of  letters  was  thrust  into  his 
tent.  He  jumped  from  bed,  and,  hastily  lighting  a 
candle,  fed  his  long  famine  of  tidings  from  home. 
Nothing  had  changed  there  except  his  own  reputa- 
tion. He  read  that  his  volume  had  passed  immedi- 
ately through  a  first  and  a  second  edition,  that  the 
reviewers  were  carried  away  by  it,  and  that  in  especial 
the  Spectator  could  recall  '  no  book  of  our  time  (with 
the  exception  of  Dr.  Mozley's  University  Sermons] 
which  showed  such  a  power  of  relating  the  moral  and 
practical  truths  of  religion,  so  as  to  make  them  take 
fresh  hold  of  the  mind  and  vividly  impress  the  imagi- 
nation.' This  review  enforced  the  already  great  popu- 
larity of  the  volume;  and,  by  the  time  Drummond 
reached  England  in  the  following  May,  the  popularity 
had  risen  to  fame.  At  the  end  of  the  eighth  month 
seven  thousand  copies  had  been  sold,  and  the  circu- 
lation still  went  up  by  leaps  and  bounds.  The  more 
important  Reviews  printed  long  articles  upon  Natural 
Law.  While  some  of  them  disputed  both  its  theories 
and  conclusions,  others  considered  it '  the  most  impor- 

228 


THE   FAME  OF  NATURAL  LAW  2  29 

tant  contribution  to  the  relations  of  science  and  religion 
which  the  century  had  produced ; '  and  all  attributed 
its  extraordinary  success  '  to  its  undoubted  merits,  — 
the  originality  of  its  ideas  and  its  style.'  '  A  pioneer 
book ' ;  ' full  of  the  germs  and  seeds  of  things ' ;  'a 
remarkable  and  important  book,  the  theory  which  is 
enounced  may  without  exaggeration  be  termed  a 
discovery  ' ;  *  the  reader  is  stirred  to  the  depths  of  his 
spiritual  nature ' ;  '  an  unspeakably  fascinating  volume,' 
—  these  are  but  a  few  drops  of  the  almost  weekly 
showers  of  praise  which  were  poured  upon  Natural 
Law  during  the  first  year  of  its  life.  But  not  even  such 
praise  can  measure  the  extent  of  its  vogue  among  the 
people.  The  book  was  read  almost  everywhere.  At 
the  end  of  the  second  year  thirty  thousand  copies  had 
been  sold ;  at  the  end  of  the  third,  forty  thousand ;  at 
the  end  of  the  fifth,  sixty-nine  thousand,  and  still  the 
numbers  grew.  To-day  the  sales  have  reached  one 
hundred  and  twenty-three  thousand  in  Great  Britain 
alone. 

About  this  rush  of  public  favour  one  fact  is  conspic- 
uous—  it  was  proportionally  much  greater  in  Eng- 
land and  in  America  than  it  was  in  Scotland.  The 
principle  that  a  prophet  has  less  honour  in  his  own 
country  does  not  explain  this,  for  no  part  of  the  Eng- 
lish-speaking race  exceeded  in  admiration  for  Drum- 
mond  his  own  countrymen,  and  especially  his  private 
friends.  But  the  hostile  criticism,  which  the  main 
idea  of  the  book  had  received  from  the  Glasgow  Club 
to  which  it  was  first  communicated,  was  repeated 
nowhere  more  persistently  than  in  Scotland,  and  by 
none  with  greater  conviction  than  by  a  few  of  the 
author's  closest  companions. 

The  causes  of  the  immediate  popularity  of  Natural 
Law  are  obvious.  With  the  exception  of  a  few  pas- 


230  HENRY   DRUMMOND 

sages  the  book  is  beautifully  written.  But  the  clear 
and  simple  style  is  charged  with  an  enthusiasm  and 
carries  a  wealth  of  religious  experience  which  capture 
the  heart,  and  tempt  the  thoughtful  reader  to  become 
indifferent  to  almost  every  prejudice  which  the  intro- 
duction has  excited  in  his  mind.  A  teacher  who,  with 
such  gifts,  founds  his  teaching  upon  the  facts  of  Chris- 
tian experience,  is  always  sure  of  a  welcome ;  and  the 
welcome  will  be  the  more  cordial  if  he  expounds  these 
facts,  as  not  arbitrary,  but  subject  to  reason  and  law 

—  and  this  apart  altogether  from  the  question  whether 
the  laws  he  alleges  be  the  true  ones.     When,  besides, 
he  deals  with  the  relations  of  science  and  religion,  he 
presents  a  subject  that  is  not  only  of  great  intellectual 
interest  to  most  persons  of  education,  but  to  many 
thousands  also  is  a  topic  of  the  most  acute  personal 
significance.     Among  the  letters  which    Drummond 
received  between  1883  and  1892  are  a  large  number 
from  men  and  women  of  all  degrees  of  culture,  whose 
faith,  once  strong,  had  been  shattered  by  the  new  con- 
victions of  science,  and  who  looked  for  the  reconcilia- 
tion of  the  claims  of  science  with  religion  as  they  that 
look  for  the  morning.     Science  had  proved  the  uni- 
verse to  be  subject  to  exceptionless  laws ;   and  the 
form  under  which  those  persons  had  received  religion 

—  as  if  it  were  outside  of  reason  and  independent,  if 
not  defiant,  of  law  —  had  collapsed  beneath  their  im- 
pressions of  science.     They  were  now  not  concerned 
whether  Drummond  made  out  a  case  for  the  special 
laws  which  he  illustrated,  nor  whether  his  main  thesis, 
that  physical  law  continues  within  the  spiritual  sphere, 
had  been  proven.     It  was  enough  for  them  that  they 
encountered  a  teacher  who  expounded,  defended,  and 
enforced  their  deepest  religious  experiences  upon  what 
appeared  to  be  the  dominant  intellectual  methods  of 


THE   FAME  OF  NATURAL  LAW  23! 

their  generation.  There  were  also  a  number  of  scien- 
tific men  who  had  not  passed  through  a  definitely 
Christian  discipline,  and  who  called  themselves  agnos- 
tic, but  who  yearned  to  receive  from  the  methods  they 
avowed  gifts  to  the  religious  side  of  their  nature,  and 
a  number  of  these  also  felt  that  what  they  needed  they 
got  from  Drummond.  Then,  too,  devout  and  poetic 
souls  who  rejoice  in  Nature  as  the  sacrament  and 
divine  expression  of  spiritual  truth,  welcomed  the  book 
as  though  it  were  a  consummate  interpretation  of  this. 
And  finally,  there  were  crowds  of  commonplace  men 
and  women  who  were  touched  by  neither  the  poetic 
nor  the  scientific  spirit,  but  who  were  in  need  of  the 
pure  comfort,  the  shrewd  counsel,  and  the  lofty  ideals 
in  which  the  volume  is  rich,  or  who  in  their  weariness 
of  the  world  rested  simply  in  its  pure  light  and  peace. 

Of  all  these  classes,  illustrations  may  be  given  from 
the  heap  of  letters  which  the  author  of  Natural  Law 
received  from  every  part  of  the  world.  To  his  biog- 
rapher, who  has  gone  through  them,  these  letters  have 
brought  an  almost  overwhelming  impression  of  the 
hunger  of  this  generation  for  religion  and  the  spiritual 
life.  Next  to  Drummond's  experiences  during  the 
Great  Mission  of  1873-75,  this  correspondence  must 
have  helped  to  develop  his  wonderful  expertness  in 
dealing  with  the  men  and  women  of  his  time  in  their 
religious  needs  and  aspirations. 

The  first  letter  we  may  take  is  one  of  scores  of  its 
kind.  The  writer  gives  her  name  and  address  in  a 
town  of  New  York  State.  The  date  is  late,  Decem- 
ber 9,  1893,  but  Drummond  had  received  many  similar 
tokens  within  a  year  of  the  publication  of  the  book. 

'  I  know  you  are  a  grand  good  man,  while  I  am 
only  a  poor  working-woman ;  but  if  you  would  really 
care  to  know,  your  book  has  comforted  many  a  weary 


232  HENRY   DPUMMOND 

hour  of  my  life.  I  have  read  it  over  and  over  again, 
thoughtfully,  and  sometimes  prayerfully,  until  I  know 
many  of  its  pages  by  heart,  and  so  can  always  have 
them  with  me  to  make  me  better,  more  thoughtful  of 
my  fellow-men,  and  more  faithful  to  God.  I  thank 
you  for  giving  it  to  the  world,  for  I  may  have  it  to 
purify  my  heart  and  life.  Your  book  is  one  of  my 
treasures,  and  has  made  me  realise  and  believe  the 
most  momentous  truth  that  Christ  must  be  in  the 
Christian,  and  created  a  longing  in  my  own  heart  to 
love  Him  more  and  serve  Him  better.' 

Another  wrote,  echoing  beautifully  the  expressions 
of  many:  '  Your  book  has  been  a  benediction  to  me; ' 
and  numbers  traced  to  it  their  conversion  from  wild 
and  profligate  lives,  or  from  a  careless  and  formal 
Christianity.  The  late  Mr.  Campbell  Finlayson,  in 
sending  to  Drummond  his  very  able  criticism  of  the 
volume,  added  that  it  'has  interested  and  stimulated 
the  minds  of  many  who,  like  myself,  are  unable  to 
accept  some  of  its  conclusions.' 

But  welcomes  more  specific  than  these  were  given 
by  authorities  in  the  departments  both  of  science  and 
religion.  It  was  one  Anglican  divine  who  wrote  the 
article  in  the  Spectator.  Another  said  enthusiasti- 
cally, '  it  was  the  best  book  he  had  ever  read  upon 
Christian  experience.'  Several  men,  well  known  for 
their  contributions  to  theology,  congratulated  Drum- 
mond on  having  placed  the  argument  for  the  spiritual 
life  upon  a  sound  basis.  One  wrote  thus  in  June, 
1884:  — 

'  I  daresay  from  the  seven  thousand  purchasers  of 
your  book  on  Natural  Law  you  have  had  more  letters 
than  you  care  for,  but  I  trust  you  will  not  allow  this 
to  deprive  me  of  the  pleasure  of  saying  how  delighted 
I  have  been  with  it.  I  feel  that  you  have  added 


THE   FAME  OF  NATURAL  LAW  233 

enormously  to  the  avenues  of  my  own  spiritual  exist- 
ence, and  therefore  I  warmly  thank  you  for  it.  I  re- 
gard the  application  of  your  method  as  most  meanful 
(sic\  and  think  your  conclusions  impregnable.  You 
have  provided  a  splendid  apparatus  of  additional 
inductive  probability  to  show  the  existence  of  a 
spiritual  world,  which  to  those  who  are  prepared  to 
accept  it  must  be  final.  I  am  not  sure,  however,  of 
its  effect  upon  those  who  start  with  the  denial  of  its 
existence.' 

On  the  part  of  many  men  of  science  the  book  re- 
ceived an  immediate  and  a  cordial  welcome.  A  great 
London  physician  said  of  it  in  March,  1884:  'One  of 
the  best  books  I  have  ever  read  —  I  have  given  away 
six  copies  of  it.'  From  this  side  take  the  following, 
written  in  July,  1883,  —  about  a  month  after  the  book 
was  published,  —  by  one  of  the  foremost  authorities  in 
his  own  branch  of  science  :  — 

'  MY  DEAR  SIR, —  I  have  just  been  reading  with 
extreme  interest  your  very  able  and  suggestive  book, 
Natural  Law  in  the  Spiritual  World,  and  cannot 
refrain  from  writing  you  these  few  words  of  thanks 
for  the  strengthening  of  my  own  convictions,  which 
you  have  given  me.  It  is  now  many  years  since  I  felt 
that  Christianity  is  not  in  harmony  with  the  Science 
of  Nature,  and  that  to  commend  it  to  students  of 
Nature  some  other  mode  of  presentment  was  re- 
quired. Long  pondering  over  the  question  in  my 
own  case  has  led  me  through  much  difficulty  and 
doubt  and  pain  to  see  the  matter  just  as  you  see  it, 
and  I  can  hardly  say  how  glad  I  am  to  find  these 
notions,  or  rather  convictions,  so  clearly  and  convin- 
cingly set  forth  as  they  are  in  your  work.  I  believe 
your  book  will  be  of  inestimable  value  to  many  a 
troubled  and  distracted  soul.  Living  as  I  did  for 


234  HENRY   DRUMMOND 

many  years  a  somewhat  lonely  life  in  the  country, 
practically  cut  off  from  personal  converse  with  fellow- 
workers,  I  yet  was  well  aware  that  materialistic  views 
of  life  were  rampant  amongst  biologists,  but  until 

I  came  to  to  reside  I  was  hardly  prepared  to 

find  materialism  so  victorious.  And  yet  among  the 
many  positivists  with  whom  I  have  recently  come  in 
contact,  there  is  much  doubt  and  restlessness.  Their 
religion  of  death  and  annihilation  is  not  a  religion  of 
peace.  And  I  have  been  quite  touched  by  the  avidity 
with  which  they  will  listen  to  any  argument  that  seems 
to  open  for  them  a  possible  means  of  escape  from  their 
melancholy  conclusion.  One  of  my  students,  who 
called  for  me  last  Sunday  evening,  told  me,  with  the 
tears  in  his  eyes,  that  he  would  fain  believe  as  his 
mother  taught  him,  but  that  his  scientific  training 
would  not  let  him.  It  is  very  sad  to  think  how  many 
hearts  are  breaking  —  how  many  souls  are  being 
eclipsed  all  around  one.  But  the  dawn,  I  feel  assured, 
is  breaking.  I  do  not  know  any  thoughtful  Agnostic 
who  does  not  doubt  his  own  conclusions,  and  who 
would  not  readily  escape  them  if  he  could.  Such  a 
book  as  yours  will  appeal  with  great  force  to  all  such, 
and  it  will  give  me  the  greatest  pleasure  to  recom- 
mend it  to  every  thoughtful  biologist  I  encounter.' 

These  typical  letters,  which  represent  the  kind  of 
effect  the  book  so  suddenly  produced,  I  give  without 
the  names  of  the  authors,  for  some  of  them  are  dead, 
and  some  who  live  may  no  longer  adhere  to  the  opin- 
ions they  then  expressed.  It  is  remarkable,  indeed, 
how  many,  both  on  the  evangelical  and  the  scientific 
sides  of  life,  at  first  welcomed  the  book  as  a  proof  of 
religion  and  a  reconciliation  of  her  claims  with  those 
of  science,  but  afterwards  fell  away  from  this  opinion. 

Besides  the  gratitude  which  a  book  wins  from  those 


THE   FAME  OF  NATURAL  LAW  235 

whom  it  has  helped  in  the  hard  struggle  of  head  or 
heart,  there  are  two  other  standards  by  which  its 
power  may  be  measured  —  the  serious  criticism  which 
it  calls  forth  from  philosophic  minds,  and  the  fascina- 
tion it  creates  upon  all  the  restless  race  of  faddists, 
quacks,  'cranks,'  and  monomaniacs  in  general.  Natu- 
ral Law  in  the  Spiritual  World  triumphantly  passed 
both  of  these  tests. 

To  take  the  latter  first  —  I  suppose  Drummond  had 
more  correspondence  with  theorists  and  with  dreamers 
than  any  other  author  of  our  generation.  Their  name 
was  legion.  A  number  hailed  him  with  eerie  joy  as  a 
fellow-spirit.  They  have  been  working,  they  write,  f.or 
years  in  the  same  direction ;  they  have  reached  the 
same  conclusions  by  'electro-biology,'  'medical  psy- 
chology,' 'mind-healing,'  'Christian  science,'  'interpre- 
tation of  prophecy,'  and  I  know  not  what  else,  and 
they  are  eager  to  point  out  defects  and  omissions  in 
Drummond's  arguments  which  can  be  repaired  only 
by  their  peculiar  methods.  They  are  generally  retired 
army  officers,  doctors  without  practice,  dreamy  school- 
mistresses, lonely  squatters.  Some  are  retired  profli- 
gates, into  whose  minds,  swept  empty  of  vice  but  also 
destitute  of  principle,  the  devils  of  vanity,  curiosity, 
audacity,  paradox,  and  unreason  appear  to  have  rushed 
with  riotous  vigour.  One  extraordinary  letter  comes 
from  a  man  who  describes  himself  as  '  fifty-nine  years 
of  age,  converted  at  fifty-six  from  a  life  of  sensuality,' 
and  now  recovering  health  and  social  usefulness 
through  'Christian  Science,'  to  which  he  welcomes 
Drummond  as  a  powerful  adherent.  Some  offer  the 
author  an  additional  chapter  in  which  his  principle  is 
applied  to  the  phenomena  of  reproduction.  Others 
tell  him  that  he  has  sinned  by  forgetting  the  tri- 
partite constitution  of  man,  and  disclose  to  him  three 


236  HENRY   DRUMMOND 

analogies  of  life  where  he  has  discovered  only  two. 
And,  of  course,  there  are  more  than  one  —  fortunately 
far  away  in  Australia  and  the  Western  States  of 
America  —  who  propose  marriage  to  him.  It  is  all  a 
curious  chapter  in  the  history  of  human  delusions. 

Of  a  different  class  are  those  who  claim  Drum- 
mond's  adhesion  to  their  own  denomination  or  partic- 
ular heresy.  It  was  very  natural  that  Swedenborgians 
should  assert  that  many  of  his  positions  have  been  an- 
ticipated in  '  the  divine  correspondences '  of  their  mas- 
ter; and  no  doubt  they  were  right  in  pointing  out 
that  the  Swedenborg's  method  of  working  down  from 
the  spiritual  to  the  physical  was  preferable  to  Drum- 
mond's  of  working  up  from  the  physical  to  the  spirit- 
ual. A  similar  claim  with  even  more  justice  was 
made  by  the  disciples  of  James  Hinton.  It  was 
equally  natural  for  those  Christians  who  believe  in 
the  theory  of  conditional  immortality  —  that  short 
cut  through  many  mazes  —  to  read  Natural  Law  as  a 
corroboration  of  their  creed.  Perhaps  the  greatest 
number  of  letters  which  Drummond  received  upon 
his  volume  came  from  such  promoters  of  the  applica- 
tion to  the  future  life  of  the  doctrine  of  '  the  survival 
of  the  fittest.'  Then  the  foes  of  *  Bibliolatry,'  as  they 
call  it,  congratulate  him  on  having  removed  religion 
from  a  Scriptural  basis,  though  they  '  look  with  suspi- 
cion upon  his  employment  of  so  many  texts '  to  illus- 
trate his  arguments. 

The  letters  which  criticise  omissions  in  Natural 
Law  are  not  only  proofs  of  the  unreasonableness 
of  the  writers,  but  form  an  impressive  tribute  to  the 
power  of  a  volume  which  could  evoke  such  colossal 
expectations  of  what  its  author  might  have  done,  had 
he  willed,  in  meeting  the  intellectual  demands  of  his 
age.  Many  blame  him  for  not  settling  all  the  great 


THE  FAME  OF  NATURAL  LAW  2 37 

problems  of  religion  and  life.  Upon  a  number  of 
these  problems  some  letters  dwell  with  an  ignorance 
and  a  hunger  which  pathetically  reveal  how  much  in- 
tellectual starvation  may  linger  in  our  midst  within 
sight  and  touch  of  the  rich  supplies  that  it  desperately 
supposes  do  not  exist.  A  squatter,  writing  from  '  the 
lonely  wilds  of  the  Australian  bush,'  thanks  Drum- 
mond  for  '  a  great  intellectual  treat,'  but  angrily  asks 
him,  —  with  pretty  much  the  same  petulance  as  a  sav- 
age beats  his  fetich  or  a  mediaeval  churchman  used  to 
sulk  at  his  saint,  —  why  he  has  not  settled  other  diffi- 
culties. Why  has  he  not  dealt  with  '  the  atrocities  of 
the  Old  Testament,' l  '  with  the  miracles  of  the  New,' 
'  with  the  virgin  birth  of  Christ,'  'with  the  ultimate  fate 
of  the  heathen,' — and  so  forth.  The  same  questions 
followed  Drummond  wherever  he  lectured  during  the 
next  ten  years  and  were  sent  up  on  scraps  of  paper  to 
every  platform  on  which  he  appeared.  '  What  is  your 
theory  of  the  Atonement  ? '  '  Can  you  explain  it  on 
the  principles  of  your  volume?'  '  What  place  do  you 
leave  for  free  will  ? '  '  Does  man's  immortality  depend 
on  the  gift  of  free  grace?'  'Why  were  the  Jews,  on 
your  theory,  specially  selected  by  God  ? '  '  Why  was 
Jesus  Christ  born  a  Jew?'  Every  kind  of  question, 
soluble  and  insoluble,  relevant  and  irrelevant  to  the 
volume,  was  thrown  at  the  head  of  the  author.  But 
with  some  pertinence  the  questions  on  free  will  and 
'conditional  immortality '  far  outnumber  all  the  rest. 

The  many  gleams  of  reasonable  objections  to  Nat- 
ural Law  which  these  letters  and  questions  reveal 
were  formulated  with  great  ability,  in  a  number  of 
serious  articles  and  pamphlets,  the  long  list  of  which, 
though  they  are  in  the  main  hostile,  bear  unmistak- 
able tribute  to  the  impression  made  by  the  book  en 

1  See  below,  p.  400. 


238  HENRY  DRUMMOND 

the  mind  of  our  generation.  Appended  is  a  catalogue 
of  the  greater  number.1  The  most  able  and  effective 
are  the  treatises  by  Mr.  Campbell  Finlayson  and  'a 
Brother  of  the  Natural  Man.'  I  do  not  know  who 
wrote  the  article  in  the  British  Quarterly;  that  in 
the  Church  Quarterly  was,  though  generally  hostile 
to  Drummond's  logic,  by  Mr.  Lyttleton,  the  author  of 
the  previous  article  in  the  Spectator  which  had  so 
largely  helped  to  lift  the  book  into  fame. 

But,  from  the  first,  Natural  Law  encountered  more 
than  criticism  of  this  honest  and  able  kind.  No 
volume  of  our  time  has  provoked  more  bitter  and  pas- 
sionate blame.  It  roused  both  the  odium  theologicum 
and  that  which  is  scarcely  less  savage,  the  odium  scien- 

1  I.  Biological  Religion  ;  an  essay  in  criticism  of '  Natural  Law  in  the  Spiritual 
World.'  By  T.  Campbell  Finlayson.  London :  Simpkin,  Marshall,  &  Co.  Bd.  2s. 

2.  On  'Natural  Law  in  the  Spiritual  World'' ;  by  a  Brother  of  the  Natural 
Man.     Paisley:  Gardner.     Paper,  is. 

3.  Drifting  Away .     Remarks  on  Professor  Drummond's  '  Natural  Law  in  the 
Spiritual  World.'     By  the  Hon.  Philip  Carteret  Hill,  D.C.L.     London :  Bemrose 
&  Sons,  6d. 

4.  'Natural  Law  in  the  Spiritual  World'  Examined.    By  W.  Woods  Smyth. 
London :  Elliott  Stock.     Bd.  is.  6d. 

5.  Remarks  on  a  book  entitled  'Natural  Law  in  the  Spiritual  World.'     Being 
the  Substance  of  Four  Lectures  given  in  London  by  Benjamin  Wills   Newton. 
London :  Houlston  &  Sons.     Paper  is.  gd. 

6.  A    Critical  Analysis  of  Drummond's   'Natural  Law  in  the  Spiritual 
World?    With  a  Reply  to  some  of  its  conclusions.     By  E.  C.  Larned.     Chicago : 

Janson,  M'Clurg  &  Co. 

7.  Review  of  'Natural  Law  in  the  Spiritual  World?     By  J.  B.  Fry. 

8.  Drummond and  Miracles.     A  Critique  on  'Natural  Law  in  the  Spiritual 
World.'     Paisley:  Gardner,     is. 

9.  The  Laws  of  Nature  and  the  Laws  of  God.     A  Reply  to  Professor  Drum- 
mond by  Samuel  Cockburn,  M.D.,  L.R.C.S.E.     London:    Swan  Sonnenschein. 
Bd.  3*.  6d. 

10.  Mr.  Drummond's  Book.    With  special  references  to  Biogenesis.    Shrews- 
bury :  Adnitt  &  Naunton.     6d. 

11.  Are  Laws  the  Same  in  the  Natural  and  Spiritual  Worlds  ?     By  A.  C. 
Denholm.      Kilmarnock :  Herald  Office,     zd. 

12.  Are  the  Natural  and  Spiritual   Worlds  One  in  Law?     By  George  F. 
Magoun,  D.D.,  Iowa  College.     Reprinted  from  the  Bibliotheca  Sacra. 

Besides  articles  in  the  Church  Quarterly  for  January,  1884,  and  in  the 
British  Quarterly. 


THE   FAME  OF  NATURAL  LAW  239 

tificum.  An  '  Old  Man,'  signing  himself  '  Agnostic ' 
and  writing  from  the  Athenaeum,  flings  in  Drum- 
mond's  face  the  differences  of  doctrine  among  Chris- 
tians, assails  him  with  quotations  from  Schopenhauer, 
and  rails  at  him  for  daring  to  believe  either  in  a  revela- 
tion, or  a  spiritual  world,  or  a  God.  '  The  whole  thing 
is  an  enigma  beyond  the  grasp  of  the  human  intellect!' 
On  the  religious  side  there  arose  a  most  extraordinary 
irritation.  Certain  evangelicals  caught  at  the  state- 
ment on  page  30  of  Natural  Law,  that  it  (religion)  has 
not  yet  been  placed  on  that  basis  which  would  make 
them  (many  of  its  positions)  impregnable.  They  took 
this  as  meaning  that  Drummond  did  not  recognise 
the  authority  of  the  Bible  as  the  witness  of  God's  most 
gracious  dealings  with  the  race,  whereas  what  he 
meant  by  '  religion '  in  the  sentence  they  quoted  was 
not  the  teaching  of  the  Bible,  but  the  experiences  of 
the  Christian  believer.  These,  he  felt,  had  been  treated 
in  too  loose  a  way ;  he  examined  them  as  facts,  and 
attempted  to  explain  the  laws  by  which  they  are  gov- 
erned. Sheer  misunderstanding  of  this  provoked 
many  to  virulent  attacks  upon  him.  They  withdrew 
from  religious  associations  of  which  he  was  a  member ; 
they  would  not  speak  from  the  same  platform;  they 
published  pamphlets  against  him,  and  wrote  him  bitter 
and  contemptuous  letters.  They  said,  '  He  founds 
religion  upon  science,  and  to  do  so  is  to  be  an  infidel.' 
It  was  extraordinary  how  they  succeeded  in  poisoning 
against  him  the  minds  of  a  number  of  people  with 
whom  he  had  shared  the  work  of  the  Great  Mission 
of  1873-75.  There  were  hot  controversies  in  many 
evangelistic  committees  as  to  whether  he  should  be 
asked  to  conferences  and  conventions ;  and  some 
societies  cancelled  their  invitations  to  him  to  lecture. 
One  religious  paper,  which  had  reported  his  work  with 


240  HENRY   DRUMMOND 

Moody,  and  to  which  he  had  often  contributed,  not 
only  styled  Natural  Law  a  dangerous  book,  but  gave 
orders  to  its  reporters  at  a  large  convention  in  America 
not  to  take  down  anything  that  Henry  Drummond 
might  say.  His  services  as  an  evangelist,  his  character 
and  influence,  the  great  amount  of  positive  Christian 
doctrine  that  he  taught,  were  all  ignored  by  these  hot 
hunters  of  a  fancied  heresy.  They  would  have  been 
(from  their  own  point  of  view)  more  profitably  occu- 
pied in  proving  it  a  fallacy.  But  this  none  of  them 
seemed  to  see.  Drummond  met  all  attacks  upon  him 
with  great  good  temper ;  and  where  the  assailants  were 
old  comrades  in  religious  work,  or  had  any  other  right 
to  be  answered  —  and  even  in  many  cases  where  they 
had  no  right  to  be  answered  at  all  —  he  replied  with 
gentleness  and  courtesy.  One  never  heard  him  say  a 
word  against  the  most  violent  of  his  opponents.  But 
of  his  temper  towards  his  critics  there  will  be  more 
to  say  in  connection  with  his  later  works. 

A  few  lines  may  be  added  upon  the  vogue  which 
Natural  Law  in  the  Spiritual  World  enjoyed  upon 
the  Continent  of  Europe. 

Within  a  very  short  time  after  its  publication  in 
England  reviews  of  it  appeared  in  religious  and  lit- 
erary journals  in  France,  Germany,  and  Scandinavia. 
But  the  news  of  its  religious  value  was  more  widely 
scattered  over  these  countries,  as  well  as  in  Holland, 
Italy,  and  Russia,  by  private  correspondence.  In  a 
year  or  two  requests  for  permission  to  translate  it  were 
received  by  Drummond  from  every  land  in  Europe 
except  Turkey  and  Greece.  There  are  two  transla- 
tions into  German,1  the  earlier  of  which  appeared  in 
1886.  In  1885  the  French  edition  was  ready,  and  by 

1  The  first  was  published  through  the  Hinrichs'sche  Buchhandlung  of  Leipzig, 
Das  Naturgesctz  in  der  Geisteswelt,  and  had  a  large  circulation;  the  other,  by 


THE  FAME  OF  NATURAL  LAW  2dfl 

1887  Danish,  Dutch,  and  Swedish  translations  were 
published. 

The  book  appears  to  have  excited  the  greatest 
attention  in  Germany,  Scandinavia,  and  Russia,  if  we 
may  judge  both  from  the  letters  Drummond  received, 
and  the  number  of  pamphlets  published,  in  the  lan- 
guage of  these  countries,  both  in  defence  of  the  book, 
and  in  controversy  with  its  main  positions.  It  is 
almost  superfluous  to  give  a  resume  of  these  letters 
and  pamphlets ;  in  substance  they  reflect  the  British 
and  American  letters  summarised  above.  They  con- 
tain the  same  fervent  testimonies  from  individuals  who 
have  been  lifted  to  faith  and  a  better  life ;  the  same 
inquiries  from  evangelical  Christians  as  to  Drum- 
mond's  attitude  to  the  doctrines  of  Christianity;  the 
same  bitter  attacks  upon  his  belief  in  evolution ;  the 
same  solid  discussions  of  his  argument ;  and  the  same 
eerie  ejaculations  of  sympathy  and  welcome  from 
persons  who  believe  they  have  found  in  him  a  prophet 
for  their  particular  '  revelations,'  and  '  systems  of 
thought.'  One  Swede  begs  Drummond  to  tell  him 
how  exactly  the  manifestations  of  new  truth  which 
Natural  Law  contains  were  let  down  from  heaven.1 
There  are  letters  of  gratitude  and  inquiry  from  sev- 
eral of  the  Russian  sects.  Some  sign  themselves 
4  disciples  '  and  '  devoted  adherents.'  In  Germany,  as 
in  England,  though  of  course  in  less  proportion,  a 

Velhagen  Klasing  of  Berlin,  reached  by  1897  a  circulation  of  4000.  It  was  done 
by  Miss  Julie  Sutler,  to  whom  also  was  intrusted  the  German  translation  of 
Drummond's  Christmas  addresses. 

1  '  Do  tell  me  if  you  have  holy  treasures  lying  by,  containing  sacred  revelations 
from  the  realms  above  ?  You  must  have  them,  or  you  could  not  have  written  as 
you  have  written.  .  .  .  You  must,  like  Daniel  and  other  great  seers,  have  seen 
visions;  you  must  have  been  introduced,  "whether  in  the  body  or  in  the  spirit," 
into  the  far  regions  of  spiritual  spheres.  If  I  dare  ask  you  these  questions,  it  is 
because  I  do  not  hesitate  to  tell  you  it  has  only  been  through  such  means  that  I 
have  formed  my  opinions,  and  only  through  some  special  grace  that  I  believe  you 
could  have  come  to  such  clearness.'  There  are  nine  pages  of  this. 


242  HENRY   DRUMMOND 

small  literature  appeared  both  of  articles  and  pam- 
phlets, and  —  one  symptom  among  many  others  —  a 
new  magazine,  to  which  many  good  names  were 
attached,  promised  in  its  prospectus  to  give  an 
'  exakt-naturwissenschaftliche  Seelenanalyse  (nach  Art 
Drummond's).'  The  book  does  not  appear  to  have 
impressed  any  German  authorities  in  Natural  Science 
in  Germany  as  upon  its  first  appearance  it  did  impress 
some  such  in  England.  But  it  received  attention 
from  theologians ;  and  many  capable  writers  discussed 
it  seriously  and  with  respect.  Their  hostile  criticism 
was  largely  on  the  lines  on  which  criticism  had  been 
directed  in  Great  Britain.  It  is  summed  up  by 
Dr.  Otto  Zockler  —  a  scholar  and  a  thinker  of  repute 
as  well  in  this  country  as  in  his  own  —  in  the  follow- 
ing words :  — 

'  One  may  grant  that  the  criticism  of  Drummond,  which 
has  appeared  in  quite  a  considerable  number  of  pamphlets 
and  articles,  has  given  expression  to  much  that  is  correct. 
Such  an  acknowledgement,  however,  must  not  be  all&wed  to 
mislead  us  into  ignoring  the  high  value  of  the  healthy 
stimulus  which  has  proceeded  from  Drummond's  writings. 
If  several  English  critics  have  complained  of  Drummond's 
"  evolutionist  gospel "  as  scarcely  different  from  ordinary 
Darwinism,  and  as  issuing  in  "  Entwickelungsunglauben " 
(development-infidelity)  [sic],  there  is  not  only  strong  exag- 
geration in  such  a  complaint,  but  also  disregard  of  the  fact 
that  the  Glasgow  scholar  has  several  times  expressed  him- 
self —  especially  in  The  Ascent  of  Man  —  against  the  unlimited 
validity  of  the  Darwinian  principle  of  the  "  Struggle  for 
Existence."  And  if  one  of  the  German  critics  —  Oberpastor 
Dr.  Joh.  Liitkens,  of  Riga,  in  the  brochure  Henry  Drummond's 
Traktate  gewurdigt  in  drei  Brief  en  an  eine  Freundin l  (which, 
we  may  remark  in  passing,  is  one  of  the  most  solid  we  know) 
—  has  found  fault  with  the  Pelagian  tendency  of  Drummond's 

1  Riga,  Hoerschelmann,  1891. 


THE  FAME  OF  NATURAL  LAW  243 

ethic  (das  Pelagianisierende  der  Drummondschen  Ethik),  its 
mitigation  (Verflachung)  of  the  conception  of  sin,  and  its  dis- 
regard of  God's  free  pardoning  grace  in  Christ,  he  does  so 
only  by  ignoring  the  profound  manner  in  which  the  greater 1 
work  of  the  noble  Scotsman  speaks  of  the  necessity  of  the 
new  birth.  He  forgets  that  the  individual's  utter  inability  to 
deliver  himself  from  the  yoke  of  sin  and  of  death  is  for 
Drummond  a  fact  of  fundamental  importance,  and  that,  when 
Drummond  takes  the  field  against  the  superficial  and  shallow 
(am  Peripherischen  haftende)  modes  of  thought  of  one-sided 
modern  moralists,  he  at  the  same  time  declares  war  against 
Pelagianism.' 

1  f.e.  than  his  booklets. 


CHAPTER  X 

EVOLUTION  AND  REVELATION 

MUCH  of  the  hostile  criticism  of  Natural  Law  which 
has  been  described  in  the  last  chapter  turned  upon  the 
question  of  Drummond's  attitude  to  the  relations  of 
science  and  religion,  and  upon  the  view  which  he  took 
of  the  authority  of  the  Bible.  Upon  those  topics,  he 
published,  soon  after  his  return  from  Africa,  three 
articles,  two  in  the  Expositor  for  I885,1  on  the  'Con- 
tribution of  Science  to  Christianity,'  and  one  in  the 
Nineteenth  Century  for  February,  1886,  on  '  Mr.  Glad- 
stone and  Genesis.'  The  growth  of  his  opinions  can- 
not be  sufficiently  traced  without  some  quotations 
from  these :  — 

The  former  articles  open  with  a  beautiful  introduction, 
which  describes  the  expansion,  by  modern  science,  of  'the 
intellectual  area  of  Christianity,'  and  the  power  of  Chris- 
tianity to  assimilate  new  facts  without  either  false  hopes  or 
false  fears. 

'  It  knows  it  can  approve  itself  to  science,  but  it  has  been 
taken  by  surprise,  and  therefore  begs  time.  It  will  honestly 
look  up  its  credentials  and  adjust  itself,  if  necessary,  to  the 
new  relation.  Now  this  is  the  position  of  theology  at  the 
present  moment.  And  theology  proceeds  by  asking  science 
what  it  demands,  and  then  borrows  its  instruments  to  carry 
out  the  improvements.  The  loan  of  the  instruments  consti- 
tutes the  first  great  contribution  of  science  to  religion.  What 
are  these  instruments  ?  We  shall  name  two  —  the  Scientific 
Method  and  the  Doctrine  of  Evolution.  The  first  is  the 

1  Third  Series,  Vol.  I. 
244 


,ET.  33]  EVOLUTION   AND    REVELATION  245 

instrument  for  the  interpretation  of  nature ;  the  second  is 
given  us  as  the  method  of  nature  itself.  With  the  first  of 
these  we  shall  deal  formally;  the  second  will  present  itself 
in  various  shapes  as  we  proceed.' 

After  stating  that  science  has  had  no  exclusive  right  to  the 
use  of  the  scientific  method,  but  that  theologians  have  em- 
ployed it  again  and  again,  Drummond  says  that  the  things 
on  which  the  method  insists  are  chiefly  two  —  the  value  of 
facts  and  the  value  of  laws.  'On  bare  facts  science  from 
first  to  last  is  based.  Now  if  Christianity  possesses  anything, 
it  possesses  facts.  So  long  as  the  facts  were  presented  to 
the  world  Christianity  spread  with  marvellous  rapidity.  But 
there  came  a  time  when  the  facts  were  less  exhibited  to  men 
than  the  evidence  for  the  facts.  Theology,  that  is  to  say, 
began  to  rest  upon  authority.  .  .  .  Then  there  came  another 
time  when  this  authority  appealed  to  the  secular  arm.  It  is 
these  intermediaries  between  the  facts  and  the  modern  ob- 
server that  stumble  science.  It  will  look  at  facts,  and  facts 
alone.  The  dangers,  the  weakness,  the  unpracticableness  in 
some  cases  of  this  method  are  well  known.  Nevertheless,  it 
is  a  right  method.  It  is  the  method  of  all  Reformation ;  it 
was  the  method  of  the  Reformation.  .  .  . 

'  Now  Christianity  is  learning  from  science  to  go  back  to  its 
facts,  and  it  is  going  back  to  facts.  Critics  in  every  tongue 
are  engaged  upon  the  facts;  travellers  in  every  land  are 
unveiling  facts ;  exegetes  are  at  work  upon  the  words,  scholars 
upon  the  manuscripts;  sceptics,  believing  and  unbelieving, 
are  eliminating  the  not-facts ;  and  the  whole  field  is  alive  with 
workers.  And  the  point  to  mark  is  that  these  men  are  not 
manipulating,  but  verifying,  facts. 

'  There  is  one  portion  of  this  field  of  facts,  however,  which 
is  still  strangely  neglected,  and  to  which  a  scientific  theology 
may  turn  its  next  attention.  The  evidence  for  Christianity  is 
not  the  Evidences.  The  evidence  for  Christianity  is  a  Chris- 
tian. The  unity  of  physics  is  the  atom,  of  biology  the  cell, 
of  philosophy  the  man,  of  theology  the  Christian.  The 
natural  man,  his  regeneration  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  spiritual 
man  and  his  relations  to  the  world  and  to  God,  these  are  the 
modern  facts  for  a  scientific  theology.  We  may  indeed  talk 


246  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1885 

with  science  on  its  own  terms  about  the  creation  of  the  world, 
and  the  spirituality  of  nature,  and  the  force  behind  nature, 
and  the  unseen  universe ;  but  our  language  is  not  less  scien- 
tific, not  less  justified  by  fact,  when  we  speak  of  the  work  of 
the  risen  Christ,  and  the  contemporary  activities  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  the  facts  of  regeneration,  and  the  powers  which 
are  freeing  men  from  sin.  There  is  a  great  experiment 
which  is  repeated  every  day,  the  evidence  for  which  is  as 
accessible  as  for  any  fact  of  science;  its  phenomena  are 
as  palpable  as  any  in  nature ;  its  processes  are  as  explicable, 
or  as  inexplicable ;  its  purpose  is  as  clear ;  and  yet  science 
has  never  been  seriously  asked  to  reckon  with  it,  nor  has 
theology  ever  granted  it  the  place  its  impressive  reality  de- 
mands. One  aim  of  a  scientific  theology  will  be  to  study 
conversion  and  restore  to  Christianity  the  most  powerful 
witness.  .  .  . 

4  But  not  less  essential,  in  the  scientific  method,  than  the 
examination  of  facts,  is  the  arrangement  of  them  under  laws. 
And  the  work  of  modern  science  in  this  direction  has  resulted 
in  its  grandest  achievement  —  the  demonstration  of  the  uni- 
formity of  nature.  This  doctrine  must  have  an  immediate 
effect  upon  the  entire  system  of  theology.  For  one  thing, 
the  contribution  of  the  spiritual  world  to  the  uniformity  of 
nature  has  yet  to  be  made.  Not  that  the  natural  world  is  to 
include  the  spiritual,  but  that  a  higher  natural  will  be  seen 
to  include  both.  .  .  . 

'  There  may  be  laws,  or  actings,  in  the  spiritual  world,  which 
it  may  seem  to  some  impossible  to  include  in  such  a  scheme. 
God  is  not,  in  theology,  a  Creator  merely,  but  a  father;  and 
according  to  the  counsel  of  His  own  will  He  may  act  in 
different  cases  in  different  ways.  To  which  the  reply  is  that 
this  also  is  law.  It  is  the  law  of  the  Father,  the  law  of  the 
paternal  relation,  the  law  of  the  free-will ;  yet  not  an  excep- 
tional law,  it  is  the  law  of  all  fathers,  of  all  free-wills. 
Besides,  if  in  the  private  Christian  life  the  child  of  God 
finds  dealings  which  are  not  reducible  to  law,  grant  even  their 
lawlessness  if  that  be  possible,  that  is  a  family  matter,  a  rela- 
tion of  parent  and  child,  similar  to  the  earthly  relation,  and 
scarcely  the  kind  of  case  to  be  referred  to  science.  Into 


J&i.  33]  EVOLUTION  AND   REVELATION  247 

ordinary  family  relations  science  rarely  feels  called  to  intrude ; 
and  it  is  obvious  that  in  dealing  with  this  class  of  cases  in  the 
spiritual  world,  science  is  attempting  a  thing  which  in  the 
natural  world  it  leaves  alone.  If  ethics  chooses  to  take  up 
these  questions,  it  has  more  right  to  do  so;  but  that  there 
should  be  a  reserve  in  the  spiritual  world  for  God  acting  tow- 
ards His  children  in  a  way  past  finding  out  is  what  would  be 
expected  from  the  mere  analogies  of  the  family.  .  .  . 

'  The  relations  of  the  spiritual  man,  however,  are  not  all,  or 
nearly  all,  in  this  department.  There  are  whole  classes  of 
facts  in  the  outer  provinces  which  have  yet  to  be  examined 
and  arranged  under  appropriate  laws.  The  intellectual  gain 
to  Christianity  of  such  a  process  will  be  obvious.  But  there 
is  also  a  practical  gain  to  the  religious  experience  of  not  less 
moment.  Science  is  nothing  if  not  practical,  and  the  scientific 
method  has  little  for  Christianity  after  all  if  it  is  not  to  exalt 
and  enrich  the  lives  of  its  followers.  It  is  worth  while,  there- 
fore, taking  a  single  example  of  its  practical  value. 

'The  sense  of  lawlessness  which  pervades  the  spiritual 
world  at  present  reacts  in  many  subtle  and  injurious  ways 
upon  the  personal  experience  of  Christians.  They  gather  the 
idea  that  things  are  managed  differently  there  from  any- 
where else  —  less  strictly,  less  consistently ;  that  blessings  or 
punishments  are  dispensed  arbitrarily ;  and  that  everything 
is  ordered  rather  by  a  Divine  discretion  than  by  a  system 
of  fixed  principle.  In  this  higher  atmosphere  ordinary 
sequences  are  not  to  be  looked  for  —  cause  and  effect  are 
suspended  or  superseded.  Accordingly,  to  descend  to  the 
particular,  men  pray  for  things  which  they  are  quite  unable 
to  receive,  or  altogether  unwilling  to  pay  the  price  for.  They 
expect  effects  without  touching  the  preliminary  causes,  and 
causes  without  calculating  the  tremendous  nature  of  the 
effects.  There  is  nothing  more  appalling  than  the  wholesale 
way  in  which  unthinking  people  plead  to  the  Almighty  for 
the  richest  and  most  spiritual  of  His  promises,  and  claim 
their  immediate  fulfilment,  without  themselves  fulfilling  one 
of  the  conditions  either  on  which  they  are  promised  or  can 
possibly  be  given.  If  the  Bible  is  closely  looked  into,  it 
will  probably  be  found  that  very  many  of  the  promises  have 


248  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1885 

attached  to  them  a  condition  —  itself  not  infrequently  the 
best  part  of  the  promise.  True  prayer  for  any  promise  is  to 
plead  for  power  to  fulfil  the  condition  on  which  it  is  offered, 
and  which,  being  fulfilled,  is  in  that  act  given.  We  have 
need,  certainly  in  this  sense,  to  know  more  of  prayer  and 
natural  law.  And  science  could  make  no  truer  contribution 
to  modern  Christianity  than  to  enforce  upon  us  all,  as  un- 
weariedly  as  in  nature,  the  law  of  causation  in  the  spiritual 
life.  The  reason  why  so  many  people  get  nothing  from 
prayer  is  that  they  expect  effects  without  causes ;  and  this  also 
is  the  reason  why  they  give  it  up.  It  is  not  irreligion  that 
makes  men  give  up  prayer,  but  the  uselessness  of  their 
prayers. 

'  One  other  gain,'  he  continues,  '  may  be  expected  to  Chris- 
tianity from  the  wider  use  of  the  scientific  method.  It  must 
attract  an  ever-increasing  band  of  workers  to  theology.  .  .  . 
We  are  warned  sometimes  that  this  method  has  dangers,  and 
told  not  to  carry  it  too  far.  .  .  .  The  danger  arises,  not  from 
the  use  of  the  scientific  method,  but  from  its  use  apart  from 
the  scientific  spirit.  For  these  two  are  not  quite  the  same. 
Some  use  the  scientific  method,  but  not  in  the  scientific  spirit. 
And  as  science  can  help  Christianity  with  the  former,  Chris- 
tianity may  perhaps  do  something  for  science  as  regards  the 
latter.  And  so  just  is  the  remark  of  "Natural  Religion" 
that  the  true  scientific  spirit  and  the  Christian  spirit  are  one, 
that  the  Christian  world  is  probably  prepared  to  accept 
almost  anything  the  most  advanced  theology  brings,  provided 
it  be  a  joint  product  of  the  scientific  method  with  the  scien- 
tific spirit  —  the  fearlessness  and  originality  of  the  one  tem- 
pered by  the  modesty,  caution,  and  reverence  of  the  other. 

'  To  preserve  this  confidence  and  to  keep  this  spirit  pure  is 
a  sacred  duty.  There  is  an  intellectual  covetousness  abroad 
just  now  which  is  neither  the  fruit  nor  the  friend  of  a  scien- 
tific age  —  a  haste  to  be  wise,  which,  like  the  haste  to  be  rich, 
leads  men  into  speculation  upon  indifferent  securities,  and  can 
only  end  in  fallen  fortunes.  Theology  must  not  be  bound  up 
with  such  speculation.  .  .  . 1  The  one  safeguard  is  to  use  the 
intellectual  method  in  sympathetic  association  with  the  moral 

1  Here  comes  a  fine  quotation  from  Bacon's  Works,  v.  132,  133. 


/Ex.  33]  EVOLUTION  AND   REVELATION  249 

spirit.  The  scientific  method  may  bring  to  light  many  fresh 
and  revolutionary  ideas  ;  the  scientific  spirit  will  see  that  they 
are  not  given  a  place  as  dogmas  in  their  first  exuberance ; 
that  they  are  held  with  caution  and  abandoned  with  generos- 
ity on  sufficient  evidence.  .  .  . 

'  So  much  for  the  scientific  method.  Let  us  now  consider 
for  a  moment  one  or  two  of  its  achievements.  .  .  . 

'  Itself  at  an  elementary  stage,  we  should  be  wrong  to  look 
[to  it]  for  any  very  pronounced  contribution  as  yet  to  the 
higher  truths  of  religion.  We  should  expect  the  first  effect 
among  the  elements  of  religion.  We  should  expect  science 
to  be  fairly  decided  in  its  utterances  about  them,  to  become 
more  and  more  hesitating  as  it  runs  up  the  range  of  Christian 
doctrine,  and  gradually  to  lapse  into  silence.  Proceeding  upon 
this  principle,  we  should  go  back  at  once  to  Genesis.  We 
should  begin  with  the  beginnings,  and  expect  the  first  serious 
contribution  to  theology  on  the  doctrine  of  creation. 

'  And  what  do  we  find  ?  We  find  that  upon  this  subject  of 
all  others  science  has  most  to  offer  us.  It  comes  to  us,  not 
only  freighted  with  vast  treasures  of  newly  noticed  facts,  but 
with  a  theory  which  by  many  thoughtful  minds  has  been  ac- 
cepted as  the  method  of  creation.  And,  more  than  this,  it 
tells  us  candidly  it  has  failed  —  and  the  failures  of  science 
are  among  its  richest  contributions  to  Christianity  —  it  has 
failed  to  discover  any  clue  to  the  ultimate  mystery  of  origins, 
any  clue  which  can  compete  for  a  moment  with  the  view  of 
theology. 

'  Consider  first  this  impressive  silence  of  science  on  the 
question  of  origins.  Who  creates  or  evolves;  whither  do 
the  atoms  come  or  go  ?  These  questions  remain  as  before. 
Science  has  not  found  a  substitute  for  God.  And  yet,  in 
another  sense,  these  questions  are  very  different  from  before. 
Science  has  put  them  through  its  crucible.  It  took  them 
from  theology,  and  deliberately  proclaimed  that  it  would  try 
to  answer  them.  They  are  now  handed  back,  tried,  unan- 
swered, but  with  a  new  place  in  theology  and  a  new  power 
with  science.  ...  If  there  are  answers  to  these  questions, 
and  there  ought  to  be,  theology  holds  them.  ...  In  its 
investigations  of  these  questions  science  has  made  a  dis- 


250  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1885 

covery.  It  has  seen  plainly  that  atheism  is  unscientific.  It 
is  a  remarkable  thing  that,  after  trailing  its  black  length  for 
centuries  across  European  thought,  atheism  should  have  had 
its  doom  pronounced  by  science.  With  its  most  penetrating 
gaze  science  has  now  looked  at  the  back  of  phenomena.  It 
says :  "  The  atheist  tells  us  there  is  nothing  there.  We  can- 
not believe  him.  We  cannot  tell  what  it  is,  but  there  is  cer- 
tainly something.  Agnostics  we  may  be,  we  can  no  longer 
be  atheists."  ' 

He  illustrates  this  by  the  passages  from  Huxley's  Lay  Ser- 
mons, quoted  above  in  Chapter  VI.1 

'  When  we  turn  now  to  the  larger  question  of  the  creation 
of  the  world  itself,  we  find  much  more  than  silence,  or  a  per- 
mission to  go  on.  We  find  science  has  a  definite  theory  on 
that  subject.  It  offers,  in  short,  to  theology  a  doctrine  of  the 
method  of  creation  in  its  hypothesis  of  evolution.  That  this 
doctrine  is  proved  yet,  no  one  will  assert.  That  in  some  of 
its  forms  it  is  never  likely  to  be  proved,  many  are  convinced. 
It  will  be  time  for  theology  to  be  unanimous  about  it  when 
science  is  unanimous  about  it.  Yet  it  would  be  idle  to  deny 
that  in  a  general  form  it  has  received  the  widest  assent  from 
theology.  But  if  science  is  satisfied,  even  in  a  general  way, 
with  its  theory  of  the  method  of  creation,  "  assent "  is  a  cold 
word  for  theology  to  welcome  it  with.  It  is  needless  at  this 
time  of  day  to  point  out  the  surpassing  grandeur  of  the  new 
conception.  How  it  has  filled  the  Christian  imagination  and 
kindled  to  enthusiasm  the  soberest  scientific  minds  is  known 
to  all.  For  that  splendid  hypothesis  we  cannot  be  too  grate- 
ful to  science,  and  that  theology  can  only  enrich  itself  which 
gives  it  even  temporary  place.  There  is  a  sublimity  about 
the  old  doctrine  of  creation  —  we  are  speaking  of  its  scientific 
aspects  —  which,  if  one  could  compare  sublimities,  is  not  sur- 
passed by  the  new  ;  but  there  is  also  a  baldness.  .  .  .  The 
doctrine  of  evolution  fills  a  gap  at  the  very  beginning  of  our 
religion  ;  and  no  one  who  looks  now  at  the  transcendant  spec- 
tacle of  the  world's  past,  as  disclosed  by  science,  will  deny 
that  it  has  filled  it  worthily.  Yet,  after  all,  its  beauty  is  not 
the  only  part  of  its  contribution  to  Christianity.  Scientific 

1  P.  150. 


JEr.  33]  EVOLUTION  AND   REVELATION  251 

theology  required  a  new  view,  though  it  did  not  require  it  to 
come  in  so  magnificent  a  form.  What  it  wanted  was  a  credi- 
ble presentation,  in  view  especially  of  astronomy,  geology,  and 
biology.  These  had  made  the  former  theory  simply  unten- 
able. And  science  has  supplied  theology  with  a  theory  which 
the  intellect  can  accept,  and  which  for  the  devout  mind  leaves 
everything  more  worthy  of  worship  than  before.' 

'  We  might  pass  on,'  the  second  lecture  begins,  'to  mark  the 
effects  [of  science]  upon  many  other  theological  truths  [than 
that  of  creation].  One  shall  be  the  doctrine  of  revelation  it- 
self. According  to  science,  as  we  have  already  seen,  evolu- 
tion is  the  method  of  creation.  Now,  creation  is  a  form  of 
revelation ;  it  is  the  oldest  form,  the  most  accessible,  the  most 
universal,  and  still  an  ever-increasing  source  of  theological 
truth. 

'  If,  then,  science,  familiar  with  this  revelation,  and  know- 
ing it  to  be  an  evolution,  were  to  be  told  of  the  existence  of 
another  revelation  —  an  inspired  word  —  it  would  expect  that 
this  other  revelation  would  also  be  an  evolution.  Such  an 
anticipation  might  or  might  not  be  justified  ;  but  from  the  law 
of  the  uniformity  of  nature  there  would  be,  to  the  man  of 
science,  a  very  strong  presumption  in  favour  of  any  revelation 
which  bore  this  scientific  hallmark,  which  indicated,  that  is 
to  say,  that  God's  Word  had  unfolded  itself  to  men,  like  His 
works. 

'  Now  if  science  searches  the  field  of  theology  for  an  addi- 
tional revelation,  it  will  find  a  Bible  awaiting  it  —  a  Bible  in 
two  forms.  The  one  is  the  Bible  as  it  was  presented  to  our 
forefathers ;  the  other  is  the  Bible  of  modern  theology.  The 
books,  the  chapters,  the  verses,  and  the  words  are  the  same 
in  each;  yet  in  form  they  are  two  entirely  different  Bibles. 
To  science  the  difference  is  immediately  palpable.  Judging 
of  each  of  them  from  its  own  standpoint,  science  perceives, 
after  a  brief  examination,  that  the  distinction  between  them 
is  one  with  which  it  has  been  long  familiar.  In  point  of  fact, 
the  one  is  constructed,  like  the  world,  according  to  the  old 
cosmogonies,  while  the  other  is  an  evolution.  The  one  rep- 
resents revelation  as  having  been  produced  on  the  creative 
hypothesis,  the  Divine-fiat  hypothesis,  the  ready-made  hypoth- 


252  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1885 

esis;  the  other  on  the  slow-growth  or  evolution  theory.  It 
is  at  once  obvious  which  of  them  science  would  prefer — it 
could  no  more  accept  the  first  than  it  could  accept  the  ready- 
made  theory  of  the  universe. 

'  Nothing  could  be  more  important  than  to  assure  science 
that  the  same  difficulty  has  for  some  time  been  felt,  and  with 
quite  equal  keenness,  by  theology.  The  scientific  method  in 
its  hard,  scientific  theology  has  been  laboriously  working  at 
a  reconstruction  of  biblical  truth  from  this  very  view-point  of 
development.  And  it  no  more  pledges  itself  to-day  to  the  in- 
terpretations of  the  Bible  of  a  thousand  years  ago  than  does 
science  to  the  interpretations  of  nature  in  the  time  of  Pythag- 
oras. Nature  is  the  same  to-day  as  in  the  time  of  Pythago- 
ras, and  the  Bible  is  the  same  to-day  as  a  thousand  years  ago. 
But  the  Pythagorean  interpretation  of  nature  is  not  less  objec- 
tionable to  the  modern  mind  than  are  many  ancient  interpre- 
tations of  the  Scriptures  to  the  scientific  theologian. 

'  The  supreme  contribution  of  Evolution  to  Religion  is  that 
it  has  given  it  a  clearer  Bible.  Science  is  the  great  explainer, 
the  great  expositor,  not  only  of  nature,  but  of  everything  it 
touches.  Its  function  is  to  arrange  things  and  make  them 
reasonable.  And  it  has  arranged  the  Bible  in  a  new  way, 
and  made  it  as  different  as  science  has  made  the  world.  It 
is  not  going  too  far  to  say  that  there  are  many  things  in  the 
Bible  which  are  hard  to  reconcile  with  our  ideas  of  a  just  and 
good  God.  This  is  only  expressing  what  even  the  most  de- 
vout and  simple  minds  constantly  feel,  and  feel  to  be  sorely 
perplexing,  in  reading  especially  the  Old  Testament.  But 
these  difficulties  arise  simply  from  an  old-fashioned  or  un- 
scientific view  of  what  the  Bible  is,  and  are  similar  to  the 
difficulties  found  in  nature  when  interpreted  either  without 
the  aid  of  science,  or  with  the  science  of  many  centuries  ago. 
We  see  now  that  the  mind  of  man  has  been  slowly  devel- 
oping, that  the  race  has  been  gradually  educated,  and  that 
revelation  has  been  adapted  from  the  first  to  the  various  and 
successive  stages  through  which  that  development  passed. 

'  The  moral  difficulties  of  the  Old  Testament  are  admittedly 
great.  But  when  approached  from  the  new  standpoint,  when 
they  are  seen  to  be  rudiments  of  truth  spoken  and  acted  in 


J£T.  33]  EVOLUTION   AND   REVELATION  253 

strange  ways  to  attract  and  teach  children,  they  vanish  one 
by  one.  For  instance,  we  are  told  that  the  iniquities  of  the 
fathers  are  to  be  visited  upon  the  children  unto  the  third  and 
fourth  generation.  The  impression  upon  the  early  mind  un- 
doubtedly must  have  been  that  this  was  a  solemn  threat  which 
God  would  carry  out  in  anger  in  individual  cases.  We  now 
know,  however,  that  this  is  simply  the  doctrine  of  heredity. 
A  child  inherits  its  parents'  nature,  not  as  a  special  punish- 
ment, but  by  natural  law.  In  those  days  that  could  not  be 
explained.  Natural  law  was  a  word  unknown,  and  the  truth 
has  to  be  put  provisionally  in  a  form  that  all  could  under- 
stand. And  even  many  of  the  miracles  may  have  explana- 
tions in  fact  or  in  principle,  which,  without  destroying  the 
idea  of  the  miraculous,  may  show  the  naturalness  of  the 
supernatural. 

'  The  theory  of  the  Bible,  which  makes  belief  in  a  revela- 
tion possible  to  the  man  of  science,  Christianity  owes  to  the 
scientific  method.  It  is  not  suggested  that  the  evolution  the- 
ory in  theology  was  introduced  to  satisfy  the  mind  of  the 
scientific  thinker,  any  more  than  that  his  appreciation  of  it  is 
the  test  of  its  truth.  As  regards  the  latter,  it  is  to  be  weighed 
on  its  own  evidence  and  judged  by  its  fruits ;  and  as  regards 
the  question  of  origin,  its  ancestry  is  much  more  reputable, 
for  it  was  not  a  concession  to  any  theory,  but  rose  out  of  the 
facts  themselves.  Indeed,  long  before  evolution  was  formu- 
lated in  science,  discerning  minds  had  seen,  with  an  enthusi- 
asm which  few  could  at  that  time  share,  the  slow,  steady, 
upward  growth  of  theological  truth  to  ever  higher  and  nobler 
forms.  .  .  .  [He  here  quotes  John  Henry  Newman  on  the 
development  of  theology.]  However  physical  science  may 
have  contributed  to  this  result,  it  is  certain  that  the  method  is 
not  the  creation  of  science.  .  .  . 

'  Evolution  is  the  ever-recurring  theme  in  theology  as  in 
nature.  We  might  indeed  almost  have  grouped  the  entire 
contribution  of  science  to  Christianity  around  this  point.  No 
truth  now  can  remain  unaffected  by  evolution.  Evolution  has 
given  to  theology  some  wholly  new  departments.  It  has 
given  to  it  a  vastly  more  reasonable  body  of  truth  about  God 
and  man,  about  sin  and  salvation.  It  has  lent  it  a  firmer  base, 


254  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1885 

an  enlarged  horizon,  and  a  wider  faith.  But  its  great  contri- 
bution, on  which  all  these  depend,  is  to  the  doctrine  of 
revelation. 

'  What,  then,  does  this  mean  for  revelation  ?  It  means,  in 
plain  language,  that  Evolution  has  given  Christianity  a  new 
Bible.  Its  peculiarity  is  that  in  its  form  it  is  like  the  world  in 
which  it  is  found.  It  is  a  word,  but  its  root  is  now  known, 
and  we  have  other  words  from  the  same  root.  Its  substance 
is  still  the  unchanged  language  of  heaven,  yet  it  is  written  in 
a  familiar  tongue.  The  new  Bible  is  a  book  whose  parts, 
though  not  of  unequal  value,  are  seen  to  be  of  different  kinds 
of  value,  where  the  casual  is  distinguished  from  the  essential, 
the  local  from  the  universal,  the  subordinate  from  the  primal 
end.  This  Bible  is  not  a  book  which  has  been  made ;  it  has 
grown.  Hence  it  is  no  longer  a  mere  word-book,  nor  a  com- 
pendium of  doctrines,  but  a  nursery  of  growing  truths.  It  is 
not  an  even  plane  of  proof  texts  without  proportion,  or 
emphasis,  or  light  and  shade;  but  a  revelation  varied  as 
nature,  with  the  divine  in  its  hidden  parts,  in  its  spirit,  its 
tendencies,  its  obscurities,  and  its  omissions.  Like  nature,  it 
has  successive  strata,  and  valley  and  hilltop,  and  mist  and 
atmosphere,  and  rivers  which  are  flowing  still,  and  here  and 
there  a  place  which  is  desert,  and  fossils  too,  whose  crude 
forms  are  the  stepping-stones  to  higher  things.  It  is  a  record 
of  inspired  deeds  as  well  as  of  inspired  words,  an  ascending 
series  of  inspired  facts  in  a  matrix  of  human  history. 

'  Now  it  is  to  be  marked  that  this  is  not  the  product  of  any 
destructive  movement,  nor  is  this  transformed  book  in  any 
sense  a  mutilated  Bible.  All  this  has  taken  place,  it  may  be, 
without  the  elimination  of  a  book  or  the  loss  of  an  important 
word.  It  is  simply  the  transformation  by  a  method'  whose 
main  warrant  is  that  the  book  lends  itself  to  it. 

'  It  may  be  said,  and  for  a  time  it  will  continue  to  be  said, 
that  the  Christian  does  not  need  a  transformed  Bible;  and 
fortunately,  or  in  some  cases  unfortunately,  this  is  the  case. 
For  years  yet  the  old  Bible  will  continue  to  nourish  the  soul 
of  the  Church,  as  it  has  nourished  it  in  the  past;  and  the 
needy  heart  will  in  all  time  manage  to  feed  itself  apart  from 
any  forms.  But  there  is  a  class,  and  an  ever-increasing  class, 


JEi.  33]  EVOLUTION   AND   REVELATION  255 

to  whom  the  form  is  much.  Theology  is  only  beginning  to 
realise  how  radical  is  the  change  in  mental  attitude  of  those 
who  have  learned  to  think  from  science.  Intercourse  with 
the  ways  of  nature  breeds  a  mental  attitude  of  its  own.  It  is 
an  attitude  worthy  of  its  master.  In  this  presence  the  student 
is  face  to  face  with  what  is  real.  He  is  looking  with  his  own 
eyes  at  facts,  at  what  God  did.  He  finds  things  in  nature 
just  as  its  Maker  left  them ;  and  from  ceaseless  contact  with 
phenomena  which  will  not  change  for  man,  and  with  laws 
which  he  has  never  known  to  swerve,  he  fears  to  trust  his  mind 
to  anything  less.  Now  this  Bible  which  has  been  described 
is  the  presentation  to  this  age  of  men  who  have  learned  this 
habit.  They  have  studied  the  facts ;  they  have  looked  with 
their  own  eyes  at  what  God  did;  and  they  are  giving  us  a 
book  which  is  more  than  the  devout  man's  Bible,  though  it  is 
as  much  as  ever  the  devout  man's  Bible.  It  is  the  apologist's 
Bible.  It  is  long  since  the  apologist  has  had  a  Bible.  The 
Bible  of  our  infancy  was  not  an  apologist's  Bible.  There  are 
things  in  the  Old  Testament  cast  in  his  teeth  by  sceptics  to 
which  he  has  simply  no  answer.  These  are  the  things,  the 
miserable  things,  the  masses  have  laid  hold  of.  They  are  the 
stock-in-trade  to-day  of  the  free-thought  platform  and  the 
secularist  pamphleteer.  And,  surprising  as  it  is,  there  are  not 
a  few  honest  seekers  who  are  made  timid  and  suspicious,  not  a 
few  on  the  outskirts  of  Christianity  who  are  kept  from  coming 
farther  in,  by  the  half-truths  which  a  new  exegesis,  a  recon- 
sideration of  the  historic  setting,  and  a  clearer  view  of  the 
moral  purposes  of  God  would  change  from  barriers  into  bul- 
warks of  the  faith.  Such  a  Bible  scientific  theology  is  giving 
us,  and  it  cannot  be  proclaimed  to  the  mass  of  the  people  too 
soon.  It  is  no  more  fair  to  raise  and  brandish  objections  to 
the  Bible  without  first  studying  carefully  what  scientific  theo- 
logians have  to  say  on  the  subject,  than  it  would  be  fair  for 
one  who  derived  his  views  of  the  natural  world  from 
Pythagoras  to  condemn  all  science.  It  is  expected  in  criti- 
cisms of  science  that  the  critic's  knowledge  should  at  least  be 
up  to  date,  that  he  is  attacking  what  science  really  holds,  and 
the  same  justice  is  to  be  awarded  to  the  science  of  theology. 
When  science  makes  its  next  attack  upon  theology,  if  indeed 


256  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1886 

that  shall  ever  be  again,  it  will  find  an  armament,  largely 
furnished  by  itself,  which  has  made  the  Bible  as  impregnable 
as  nature. 

'  One  question,  finally,  will  determine  the  ultimate  worth  of 
this  contribution  to  Christianity.  Does  it  help  it  practically  ? 
Does  it  impoverish  or  enrich  the  soul  ?  Does  it  lower  or  exalt 
God?  These  questions,  with  regard  to  one  or  two  of  the 
elementary  truths  of  religion,  have  been  partially  answered 
already.  But  a  closing  illustration  from  the  highest  of  all 
will  show  that  here  also  science  is  not  silent. 

'  Science  has  nothing  finer  to  offer  Christianity  than  the 
exaltation  of  its  supreme  conception  —  God.  Is  it  too  much 
to  say  that  in  a  practical  age  like  the  present,  when  the  idea 
and  practice  of  worship  tend  to  be  forgotten,  God  should  wish 
to  reveal  Himself  afresh  in  ever  more  striking  ways  ?  Is  it 
too  much  to  say  that  at  this  distance  from  creation,  with  the 
eye  of  theology  resting  largely  upon  the  incarnation  and  work 
of  the  Man  Christ  Jesus,  the  Almighty  should  design  with 
more  and  more  impressiveness  to  utter  Himself  as  the  Wonder- 
ful, the  Counsellor,  the  Great  and  Mighty  God  ?  Whether 
this  be  so  or  not,  it  is  certain  that  every  step  of  science 
discloses  the  attributes  of  the  Almighty  with  a  growing 
magnificence.  .  .  .' 

So  much  for  the  Expositor  articles.  About  a  year 
after  they  were  published,  Drummond  wrote  for  the 
Nineteenth  Century  a  short  article  entitled  '  Mr.  Glad- 
stone and  Genesis.'  It  appeared 1  under  one  on  the 
same  subject  by  Mr.  Huxley.  Mr.  Gladstone  and  Mr. 
Huxley  had  been  waging  a  controversy  upon  the  rela- 
tions between  the  teaching  of  Genesis  and  that  of 
modern  science  upon  the  creation  or  evolution  of  life. 

In  an  article  on  the  '  Dawn  of  Creation  and  Wor- 
ship,' Mr.  Gladstone  committed  himself  to  three  propo- 
sitions :  The  first,  that,  according  to  the  writer  of  the 
Pentateuch,  the  '  water  population,'  the  '  air  population,' 
and  the  '  land  population,'  of  the  globe  were  created 

1  February,  1886. 


JET.  34]  EVOLUTION  AND   REVELATION  257 

successively  in  the  order  named ;  the  second,  that  this 
has  been  '  so  affirmed  in  our  time  by  natural  science 
that  it  may  be  taken  as  a  demonstrated  conclusion  and 
established  fact ; '  and  the  third,  that  the  fact  of  this 
coincidence  of  the  Pentateuchal  story  with  the  results 
of  modern  investigation  makes  it '  impossible  to  avoid 
the  conclusion,  first,  that  either  this  writer  was  gifted 
with  faculties  passing  all  human  experience,  or  else  his 
knowledge  was  divine.'  And  accepting,  of  course,  the 
second  of  these  alternatives,  Mr.  Gladstone  declared : 
'  So  stands  the  plea  for  a  revelation  of  truth  from  God, 
a  plea  only  to  be  met  by  questioning  its  possibility.' 

In  answer  to  this,  Mr.  Huxley  had  little  difficulty  in 
showing  that  Mr.  Gladstone's  second  proposition  was 
'  not  merely  inaccurate,  but  directly  contradictory 
of  facts  known  to  every  one  who  is  acquainted  with 
the  elements  of  natural  science,'  and  arguing  that 
therefore  the  '  third  proposition  collapses  of  itself.'  In 
other  words,  Mr.  Gladstone  based  his  '  plea  for  a  revela- 
tion of  truth  from  God'  upon  the  agreement,  which 
he  asserted,  of  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis  with  the 
discoveries  of  modern  science.  Mr.  Huxley  denied 
that  agreement,  and  concluded  that  with  it  there  dis- 
appeared all  argument  for  a  divine  revelation.  It  was 
at  this  point  that  Drummond  intervened,  with  the 
assertion  that  the  question  which  the  two  antagonists 
debated,  that,  namely,  of  the  harmony  between  Genesis 
and  modern  science,  was  absolutely  irrelevant  to  the 
problem  of  revelation.  On  the  one  side  he  accepted 
Mr.  Huxley's  statement  that  it  is  impossible  to  harmo- 
nise Genesis  and  science ;  on  the  other  side,  he  de- 
nied that  the  contradiction  between  them  was  fatal  to 
the  belief  that  Genesis  contains  '  a  revelation  of  truth 
from  God.' 

He  showed  how  from  the  standpoint  of  the   new 


258  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1886 

science  of  Biblical  criticism  '  the  problem  of  the  recon- 
ciliation of  Genesis  with  geology  simply  disappears. 
The  question,  in  fact,  is  as  irrelevant  as  that  of  the 
Senior  Wrangler  who  asked  what  Milton's  Paradise 
Lost  was  meant  to  prove.'  Biblical  criticism,  he  says,1 
has  pronounced  the  Bible  '  to  be  absolutely  free  of  natu- 
ral science '  —  he  means,  of  course,  in  its  modern  shape. 

'  The  critics,'  he  continues  in  the  rest  of  his  article,  '  find 
there  history,  poetry,  moral  philosophy,  theology,  lives  and 
letters,  mystical,  devotional,  and  didactic  pieces ;  but  science 
there  is  none.  Natural  objects  are,  of  course,  repeatedly 
referred  to,  and  with  unsurpassed  sympathy  and  accuracy  of 
observation ;  but  neither  in  the  intention  of  any  of  the  innu- 
merable authors  nor  in  the  execution  of  their  work  is  there 
any  direct  trace  of  scientific  teaching.  Could  any  one  with 
any  historic  imagination  for  a  moment  expect  that  there 
would  have  been  ?  There  was  no  science  then.  Scientific 
questions  were  not  even  asked  then.  To  have  given  men 
science  would  not  only  have  been  an  anachronism,  but  a 
source  of  mystification  and  confusion  all  along  the  line.  The 
almost  painful  silence  —  indeed,  the  absolute  sterility  —  of 
the  Bible  with  regard  to  science  is  so  marked  as  to  have  led 
men  to  question  the  very  beneficence  of  God.  Why  was  not 
the  use  of  the  stars,  explained  to  navigators,  or  chloroform  to 
surgeons  ?  Why  is  a  man  left  to  die  on  the  hillside  when  the 
medicinal  plant  which  could  save  him,  did  he  but  know  it, 
lies  at  his  feet  ?  What  is  it  to  early  man  to  know  how  the 
moon  was  made  ?  What  he  wants  to  know  is  how  bread  is 
made.  How  fish  are  to  be  caught,  fowls  snared,  beasts 
trapped  and  their  skins  tanned  —  these  are  his  problems. 
Doubtless  there  are  valid  reasons  why  the  Bible  does  not 
contain  a  technological  dictionary  and  a  pharmacopoeia,  or 
anticipate  the  Encyclopedia  Britannica.  But  that  it  does  not 
inform  us  on  these  practical  matters  is  surely  a  valid  argu- 
ment why  we  should  not  expect  it  to  instruct  the  world  in 
geology.  Mr.  Huxley  is  particular  to  point  out  to  us  that  the 

1  After  repeating  the  paragraphs  of  his  Expositor  article  given  above  on  pp. 
251  ff. 


JET.  34]  EVOLUTION  AND   REVELATION  259 

bat  and  the  pterodactyle  must  be  classified  under  the  "winged 
fowl "  of  Genesis,  while  at  a  stretch  he  believes  the  cockroach 
might  also  be  included.  But  we  should  not  wonder  if  the 
narrator  did  not  think  of  this. 

'  Scientific  men,  apparently,  need  this  warning,  not  less 
than  those  whom  they  punish  for  neglecting  it.  How  igno- 
rantly,  often,  the  genius  of  the  Bible  is  comprehended  by 
those  who  are  loudest  in  their  denunciations  of  its  positions 
otherwise,  is  typically  illustrated  in  the  following  passage 
from  Haeckel.  Having  in  an  earlier  paragraph  shown  a 
general  harmony  between  the  Mosaic  cosmogony  and  his 
own  theory  of  creation,  he  proceeds  to  extract  out  of  Genesis 
nothing  less  than  the  evolution  theory,  and  that  in  its  last 
and  highest  developments  :  — 

' "  Two  great  and  fundamental  ideas,  common  also  to  the 
non-miraculous  theory  of  development,  meet  us  in  this  Mosaic 
hypothesis  of  creation  with  surprising  clearness  and  simplicity 
—  the  idea  of  separation  or  differentiation,  and  the  idea  of 
progressive  development  or  perfecting.  Although  Moses  looks 
upon  the  results  of  the  great  laws  of  organic  development 
...  as  the  direct  actions  of  a  constructing  Creator,  yet  in 
his  theory  there  lies  hidden  the  ruling  idea  of  a  progressive 
development  and  a  differentiation  of  the  originally  simple 
matter." 1 

'  With  the  next  breath  this  interpreter  of  Genesis  exposes 
"  two  great  fundamental  errors  "  in  the  same  chapter  of  the 
book  in  which  he  has  just  discovered  the  most  scientific 
phases  of  the  evolution  hypothesis,  and  which  lead  him  to 
express  for  Moses  "just  wonder  and  admiration."  What  can 
be  the  matter  with  this  singular  book  ?  Why  is  it  science  to 
Haeckel  one  minute  and  error  the  next?  Why  are  Haeckel 
and  Mr.  Huxley  not  agreed  if  it  is  science  ?  Why  are  Haeckel 
and  Mr.  Gladstone  agreed  if  it  is  religion?  If  Mr.  Huxley 
does  not  agree  with  Haeckel,  why  does  he  not  agree  with  Mr. 
Gladstone  ? 

'  George  Macdonald  has  an  exquisite  little  poem  called 
"  Baby's  Catechism."  It  occurs  among  his  children's  pieces : 

1  Haeckel,  History  of  Creation,  vol.  i.  p.  38. 


26O  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1886 

' "  Where  did  you  come  from,  baby  dear  ? 
Out  of  the  everywhere  into  here. 

Where  did  you  get  your  eyes  so  blue? 
Out  of  the  sky  as  I  came  through. 

Where  did  you  get  that  little  tear? 
I  found  it  waiting  when  I  got  here. 

Where  did  you  get  that  pearly  ear? 
God  spoke,  and  it  came  out  to  hear. 

How  did  they  all  just  come  to  be  you? 
God  thought  about  me  and  so  I  grew." 

'  For  its  purpose  what  could  be  a  finer,  or  even  a  more  true, 
account  of  the  matter  than  this  ?  Without  a  word  of  literal 
truth  in  it,  it  would  convey  to  the  child's  mind  exactly  the 
right  impression.  Now  conceive  of  the  head  nurse  banishing 
it  from  the  nursery  as  calculated  to  mislead  the  children  as  to 
the  origin  of  blue  eyes.  Or  imagine  the  nursery  governess, 
who  has  passed  the  South  Kensington  examination  in  Mr. 
Huxley's  "  Physiology,"  informing  her  pupils  that  ears  never 
"  came  out "  at  all,  and  that  hearing  was  really  done  inside, 
by  the  fibres  of  Corti  and  the  epithelial  arrangements  of  the 
maculae  acusticas.  Is  it  conceivable,  on  the  other  hand,  that 
the  parish  clergyman  could  defend  the  record  on  the  ground 
that  "  the  everywhere  "  was  a  philosophical  presentation  of  the 
Almighty,  or  that  "  God  thought  about  me "  contained  the 
Hegelian  Idea  ?  And  yet  this  is  precisely  what  interpreters 
of  Genesis  and  interpreters  of  science  do  with  the  Bible. 
Genesis  is  a  presentation  of  one  or  two  great  elementary 
truths  to  the  childhood  of  the  world.  It  can  only  be  read 
aright  in  the  spirit  in  which  it  was  written,  with  its  original 
purpose  in  view,  and  its  original  audience.  What  did  it 
mean  to  them  ?  What  would  they  understand  by  it  ?  What 
did  they  need  to  know  and  not  to  know  ? 

'  To  expand  the  constructive  answers  to  these  questions  in 
detail  does  not  fall  within  our  province  here.  What  we  have 
to  note  is  that  a  scientific  theory  of  the  universe  formed  no 
part  of  the  original  writer's  intention.  Dating  from  the  child- 
hood of  the  world,  written  for  children,  and  for  that  child-spirit 


^ET.  34]  EVOLUTION  AND   REVELATION  26 1 

in  man  which  remains  unchanged  by  time,  it  takes  colour  and 
shape  accordingly.  Its  object  is  purely  religious,  the  point 
being,  not  how  certain  things  were  made,  but  that  God  made 
them.  It  is  not  dedicated  to  science,  but  to  the  soul.  It  is  a 
sublime  theology,  given  in  view  of  ignorance  or  idolatry  or 
polytheism,  telling  the  worshipful  youth  of  the  world  that  the 
heavens  and  the  earth  and  every  creeping  and  flying  thing 
were  made  by  God.  What  world-spirit  teaches  men  to  finger 
its  fluid  members  like  a  science  catalogue,  and  discuss  its 
days  in  terms  of  geological  formations  ?  What  blindness  pur- 
sues them,  that  they  mark  the  things  He  made  only  with  their 
museum-labels,  and  think  they  have  exhausted  its  contribution 
when  they  have  never  even  been  within  sight  of  it  ?  This  is 
not  even  atheism.  It  is  simple  illiterateness. 

'  The  first  principle  which  must  rule  our  reading  of  this 
book  is  the  elementary  canon  of  all  literary  criticism,  which 
decides  that  any  interpretation  of  a  part  of  a  book  or  of  a 
literature  must  be  controlled  by  the  dominant  purpose  or  motif 
of  the  whole.  And  when  one  investigates  that  dominant  pur- 
pose in  the  case  of  the  Bible,  he  finds  it  reducing  itself  to  one 
thing  —  religion.  No  matter  what  view  is  taken  of  the  com- 
position or  authorship  of  the  several  books,  this  feature 
secures  immediate  and  universal  recognition. 

' "  Mais  s'il  en  est  ainsi  (says  Lenormant),  me  demandera- 
t-on  peut-etre.  Ou  done  voyez-vous  1'inspiration  divine  des 
e"crivains  qui  ont  fait  cette  archeologie,  le  secours  surnaturel 
dont,  comme  chr6tien,  vous  devez  les  croire  guide's?  Ou? 
Dans  1'esprit  absolument  nouveau  qui  anime  leur  narration, 
bien  que  la  forme  en  soit  reste"e  presque  de  tout  point  la 
meme  que  chez  les  peuples  voisins." x 

'  A  second  principle  is  expressed  with  such  appositeness  to 
the  present  purpose,  by  an  English  commentator,  that  his 
words  may  be  given  at  length  :  — 

'"There  is  a  principle  frequently  insisted  on,  scarcely  denied 
by  any,  yet  recognised  with  sufficient  clearness  by  few  of  the 
advocates  of  revelation,  which,  if  fully  and  practically  recog- 
nised, would  have  saved  themselves  much  perplexity  and 

1  Les  Origines  de  rffistoire,  Pref.,  xviii. 


262  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1886 

vexation,  and  the  cause  they  have  at  heart  the  disgrace  with 
which  it  has  been  covered  by  the  futile  attempts  that  have 
been  made,  through  provisional  and  shifting  interpretations, 
to  reconcile  the  Mosaic  Genesis  with  the  rapidly  advancing 
strides  of  physical  science.  The  principle  referred  to  is  this: 
matters  which  are  discoverable  by  human  reason,  and  the 
means  of  investigation  which  God  has  put  within  the  reach 
of  man's  faculties,  are  not  the  proper  subjects  of  Divine 
revelation ;  and  matters  which  do  not  concern  morals,  or  bear 
on  man's  spiritual  relations  towards  God,  are  not  within  the 
province  of  revealed  religion." 1 

1  Here  lies  the  whole  matter.  It  is  involved  in  the  mere 
meaning  of  revelation,  and  proved  by  its  whole  expression, 
that  its  subject-matter  is  that  which  men  could  not  find  out 
for  themselves.  Men  could  find  out  the  order  in  which  the 
world  was  made.  What  they  could  not  find  out  was,  that 
God  made  it.  To  this  day  they  have  not  found  that  out. 
Even  some  of  the  wisest  of  our  contemporaries,  after  trying 
to  find  that  out  for  half  a  lifetime,  have  been  forced  to  give 
it  up.  Hence  the  true  function  of  revelation.  Nature  in 
Genesis  has  no  link  with  geology,  seeks  none  and  needs 
none  :  man  has  no  link  with  biology,  and  misses  none.  What 
he  really  needs  and  really  misses  —  for  he  can  get  it  nowhere 
else  —  Genesis  gives  him ;  it  links  nature  and  man  with  their 
Maker.  And  this  is  the  one  high  sense  in  which  Genesis 
can  be  said  to  be  scientific.  The  scientific  man  must  go 
there  to  complete  his  science,  or  it  remains  forever  incom- 
plete. Let  him  no  longer  resort  thither  to  attack  what  is  not 
really  there.  What  is  really  there  he  cannot  attack,  for  he 
cannot  do  without  it.  Nor  let  religion  plant  positions  there 
which  can  only  keep  science  out.  Then  only  can  the  inter- 
preters of  Nature  and  the  interpreters  of  Genesis  understand 
each  other.' 

From  all  this  it  is  apparent  how  far  Drummond  had 
travelled  from  the  positions  of  the  older  orthodoxy 
which  he  described  in  the  college  essay,  quoted  on 
pages  46,  47.  These  positions  had  been  the  intel- 

1  Quarry,  Genesis,  pp.  12,  13. 


^ET.  34]  EVOLUTION  AND   REVELATION  263 

lectual  basis  of  the  Christian  faith  for  centuries.  To 
question  them  seemed  to  many  to  be  treason ;  to 
abandon  them,  madness.  But  Drummond  was  forced 
from  them  by  his  study  of  facts  in  the  departments  of 
natural  science  and  of  Biblical  criticism  and  Biblical 
theology.  And  upon  the  new  positions  to  which  he 
was  led  he  has  evidently  found  a  basis  for  his  faith 
more  stable  than  ever  the  older  was  imagined  to  be, 
richer  mines  of  Christian  experience  and  truth,  better 
vantage  grounds  for  preaching  the  gospel  of  Christ, 
and  loftier  summits,  with  infinitely  wider  prospects  of 
the  power  of  God  and  of  the  destiny  of  man. 

Drummond's  exposition  of  revelation,  as  also  an 
evolution,  needs  to  be  supplemented  by  only  one 
remark,  which,  when  he  wrote  his  articles  it  was  not 
possible  to  make  with  confidence.  Recent  researches 
into  the  origins  of  the  Old  Testament  have  proved 
that  the  factor  in  the  extraordinary  development  of 
moral  and  religious  truth,  which  is  so  discernible  in 
the  history  of  Israel  and  in  their  gradual  ascent  to 
the  loftiest  heights  of  spiritual  knowledge  from  the 
low  levels  of  life  which  they  had  once  occupied  with 
their  Semitic  neighbours,  was  the  impression  upon 
the  people  as  a  whole  through  the  wonderful  deeds  of 
their  history  and  the  experience  of  their  greatest 
minds  of  the  character  of  God.  But  to  impress  the 
character  of  God  upon  a  people  so  sensitive  and  so 
responsive  is  revelation  in  its  purest  and  most  effective 
form. 


CHAPTER   XI 

1884-1890 

THE  PROFESSORSHIP  AT  GLASGOW— THE  GROSVENOR  HOUSE 
ADDRESSES— ASSOCIATED  WORKERS'  LEAGUE  —  POLITICS  AND 
HOME  RULE  FOR  IRELAND  —  REFUSAL  TO  STAND  FOR  PAR- 
LIAMENT— SWITZERLAND  —  HIS  FATHER'S  DEATH  —  FIRST  AT- 
TEMPTS AT  THE  ASCENT  OF  MAN—  SECOND  SERIES  OF 
GROSVENOR  HOUSE  ADDRESSES  — THE  '88  CLUB  —  SWITZER- 
LAND AND  VENICE  — MEETING  WITH  BROWNING  — COLLEGE 
SETTLEMENTS  —  PREPARATIONS  FOR  AUSTRALIA  —  OPINIONS 
ON  MEN,  BOOKS,  AND  MOVEMENTS 

SOON  after  he  returned  from  Africa  Henry  Drum- 
mond  was  promoted  by  the  Church  to  the  status  of  a 
Professor  of  Theology. 

In  April,  1883,  Mr.  James  Stevenson,  of  Largs,  had 
offered  to  the  Free  Church  funds  sufficient  for  a  consid- 
erable increase  of  the  salary  of  the  Science  Lecturer 
in  Glasgow  College,  provided  that  the  office  was 
raised  to  an  equal  rank  with  that  of  the  four  Pro- 
fessors who  formed  the  Senate.  The  General  As- 
sembly of  1883  accepted  Mr.  Stevenson's  offer,  and 
remitted  the  proposal  of  the  Professorship  to  the  Pres- 
byteries. By  a  majority  of  four  to  one  these  decided 
in  its  favour,  and  by  260  votes  to  167  the  General 
Assembly  of  1884  'enacted  and  ordained  that  the 
Theological  Faculty  of  Glasgow  shall  consist  of  five 
professors  instead  of  four,  the  additional  professor 
being  a  professor  of  Natural  Science.'  The  title  was 
interpreted  in  the  same  sense  as  that  of  the  corre- 
sponding chair  in  New  College,  Edinburgh,  —  so  its 
occupant,  Professor  Duns,  wrote  to  Drummond, — 

264 


1884  265 

which  had  been  chosen  '  as  sufficient  to  secure  the 
intimate  theological  relations  of  the  chair,  and  to  give 
free  scope  for  the  Professor  to  deal  with  all  the  ques- 
tions of  a  physico-theological  kind  sure  to  turn  up  as 
science  advances.  The  place  of  the  chair  in  a  theo- 
logical college  was  from  the  first  held  to  settle  its 
character  and  scope.'  The  Assembly  reserved  the 
right  to  revise  the  constitution  of  the  chair  whenever 
Natural  Science  should  be  included  in  the  Arts  cur- 
riculum of  the  universities.1 

On  May  31  Drummond  was  unanimously  elected 
to  the  new  chair,  and  the  Assembly  instructed  the 
Presbytery  of  Glasgow  to  arrange  for  his  '  ordination 
and  induction.'  This  took  place  on  November  4  in 
College  Free  Church,  according  to  the  simple  Scottish 
rite,  and  by  laying  on  of  the  hands  of  the  Presbytery? 

This  rite  is  the  same  in  the  case  whether  of  a  min- 
ister or  of  a  professor,  for  the  Church  of  Scotland 
recognises  no  difference  between  her  teachers  and  her 

1  The  deliverance  of  the  Assembly  of  1884,  constituting  the  chair,  declared: 
'  In  accordance  with  the  wishes  of  James  Stevenson,  Esq.,  who  has  provided  the 
endowment,  that  in  the  event  of  such  arrangements  being  made  for  the  teaching 
of  Natural  Science  as  part  of  the  M.A.  curriculum  in  the  universities  as   may 
make  it  inexpedient  or  unnecessary  to  keep  up  this  chair  on  its  present  footing, 
it  shall  be  competent  for  the  Church  to  revise  the  constitution  of  the  chair,  and 
to  determine  the  subjects  to  be  taught  as  may  then  be  most  suitable,  retaining 
the  basis  of  the  relation  of  science  and  theology,  and  adding  such  subjects  as 
are  cognate.' — Assembly  Blue  Book,  1884,  pp.  69,  70. 

2  There  had  been  some  uncertainty  about  this.     Drummond  was  ordained  an 
elder  of  the  Church  on  his  appointment  to  the  lectureship,  and  Mr.  Stevenson 
wrote  Principal   Rainy  and  Dr.  Melville,  the  Principal  Clerk  of  Assembly,  that 
surely  it  was  not  necessary  to  ordain  him  as  minister.     Dr.  Melville  replied  that 
the  Assembly  wished  to  place  the  Professor  of  Natural  Science  on  the  same  foot- 
ing as  his  colleagues,  but  that  Drummond's  ordination  to  the  ministry  need  not 
prejudice  any  future  appointment  to  the  chair  of  a  layman,  who  was  an  elder. 
This  was  what  Mr.  Stevenson  had  wished  to  secure.     Probably  also  Drummond 
himself  had  been  anxious  not  to  be  ordained  as  a  full  minister  of  the  Church;    for 
after  the  ordination,  and  to  the  end  of  his  life,  he  persisted  —  to  the  amusement  of 
his  friends  —  that  he  had  never  been  ordained  as  a  minister.     The  fact,  however, 
is  beyond  all  doubt.     On  November  4,  1884,  he  received  by  the  hands  of  the 
Glasgow  Presbytery  the  full  orders  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 


266  HENRY   DRUMMOND 

pastors,  but  lays  them  under  the  same  vows  and  ordains 
them  all  as  ministers  of  Christ's  Gospel  and  of  His 
Sacraments.  The  form  is  as  follows:  After  public 
worship  the  candidate  stands  up  before  the  congrega- 
tion. In  answer  to  the  questions  of  the  presiding 
minister  he  declares  his  '  belief  in  the  Scriptures  of  the 
Old  and  New  Testaments  as  the  Word  of  God,  and 
the  only  rule  of  faith  and  manners ' ;  his  acceptance  of 
the  doctrines  of  the  Church  as  denned  in  the  Westmin- 
ster Confession  of  Faith  j1  his  adherence  to  the  Presby- 
terian form  of  church  government ;  his  loyalty  to  the 
'  spirituality  and  freedom  of  the  Church  under  the  sole 
headship  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,'  for  which  the  Free 
Church  of  Scotland  testified  and  separated  from  the 
State  in  1843;  and  that  'zeal  for  the  honour  of  God, 
love  to  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  desire  of  saving  souls  are 
his  great  motives  and  inducements  in  entering  into 
the  function  of  the  Holy  Ministry.'  Having  signed  the 
formula  the  candidate  kneels  before  the  Moderator 
(that  is,  the  presiding  minister),  who  offers  the 
ordination  prayer,  the  other  ministers  of  the  Presby- 
tery standing  round.  When  the  prayer  invokes  the 
Holy  Spirit  upon  '  this  our  brother  whom  we  solemnly 
ordain  and  set  apart  to  the  office  of  the  ministry,' 
the  Presbytery  lay  their  hands  upon  the  head  of 
the  kneeling  man.  At  the  close  of  the  prayer,  he 
stands  up  and  receives  his  induction  from  the  Mod- 
erator '  in  the  name  and  by  authority  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,'  and  the  Presbytery  give  him  the  right  hand  of 
fellowship.  He  is  then  suitably  charged  by  one  of  the 
ministers,  and  his  congregation,  or  students,  as  the 
case  may  be,  are  also  exhorted.  When  Drummond 
was  ordained,  the  presiding  minister  was  the  Reverend 

1  Which  confession  is  now  interpreted  according  to  a  Declaratory  Act  passed 
by  the  General  Assembly  in  1893. 


1884  267 

George  Reith  of  College  Free  Church,  who  delivered 
the  following  charge :  — 

'Your  appearance  this  day  reminds  us  of  the  faith  our 
Church  wisely  reposes  in  a  trained  and  cultivated  ministry. 
No  wise  man  will  undervalue  culture,  especially  in  the  line 
of  scientific  investigations  —  the  peculiar  feature  of  our  time. 
The  more  of  culture  a  man  has  the  better  for  his  hearers. 
But,  after  all,  we  may  mistake  wherein  lies  power,  and 
besides  it  is  not  with  a  few  cultured  sceptics  a  Church  has  to 
do.  It  is  with  the  great  masses  of  men.  I  very  sincerely 
rejoice  that  you  have  earned,  I  will  not  say  a  better  title  to 
your  chair,  but  I  do  say  an  equally  valid  title,  by  your  sym- 
pathy with  the  evangelistic  work  of  our  Church,  and  your 
very  considerable  practical  acquaintance  with  it.  A  professor 
is  all  the  better  for  having  known  the  practical  work  of  the 
ministry ;  and  in  your  case,  though  the  name  has  been  want- 
ing, the  thing  has  been  there.  We  look  to  you  as  one  espe- 
cially qualified  to  show  how  culture  and  sympathy  with  evan- 
gelistic work  are  to  go  hand  in  hand.  We  look  to  you  to 
impress  your  students  with  the  love  of  men.  You  can  teach 
them  what  culture  can,  and  what  it  cannot  do.  You  can 
teach  them  —  and  from  your  lips  it  will  come  with  additional 
emphasis  —  that  to  gain  men  we  must  lay  down  our  lives  for 
them,  and  that  our  true  power  is  the  power  of  the  Master  we 
serve,  the  love  that  moves  to  daily  self-sacrifice.' 

Professor  Drummond  then  delivered  his  inaugural 
address  on  the  '  Contribution  of  Science  to  Christian- 
ity '  —  virtually  the  same  as  the  articles  in  the  Expos- 
itor, summarised  in  the  previous  chapter. 

To  James  Stevenson,  Esq. 

<3  CARLTON  GARDENS,  KELVINSIDE,  GLASGOW, 
November  13,  1884. 

'  Thank  you  for  your  very  kind  note  on  the  morning 
of  my  induction.  There  was  more  interest  in  the 
starting  of  this  chair  than  in  anything  that  has 


268  HENRY   DRUMMOND 

happened  publicly  in  the  history  of  this  Glasgow 
College.  The  inauguration  was  advertised  for 
the  College  Hall,  but  the  audience  would  have 
filled  it  three  or  four  times,  and  we  had  to  have 
it  in  Mr.  Keith's  church.  I  am  quite  sure  there 
is  a  great  and  increasing  interest  in  the  subject. 
The  Philosophy  men  find  it  hard  to  believe  that 
the  day  of  science  has  come,  but  I  am  sure  four- 
fifths  of  our  Church  are  not  only  favourable,  but 
enthusiastically  favourable,  to  our  science  chairs.1 
'  I  believe  in  the  work  of  this  chair  more  and  more 
every  day.  Indeed,  perhaps  it  is  due  to  you  that 
I  should  tell  you  what  I  have  not  told  any  one 
here,  that  I  lately  refused  a  very  lucrative  govern- 
ment appointment  lest  it  should  hinder  me  in 
my  new  work.'2 

'  Our  session,'  wrote  Principal  Douglas  to  Mr.  Steven- 
son on  December  8,  '  has  begun  this  winter,  I  think, 
well.  Drummond  is  very  popular  with  the  young 
men,  and  I  hope  you  will  have  evidence  that  he  is 
exercising  a  healthy  and  powerful  influence.'  There 
were  ninety-five  regular  students  (twenty-five  of  them 
in  their  first  year),  and  twenty  non-regular.  The 
course  through  which  Drummond  took  his  class  con- 
tinued to  be  the  same  as  it  had  been.3  He  lectured 
four  hours  a  week,  and,  besides  expounding  the  prin- 
ciples of  modern  science  and  their  relation  to  religion, 
taught  the  elements  of  botany  and  geology,  and,  I 
believe,  a  little  zoology.  It  is  clear  that  in  the  short 
session  —  the  lectures  numbered  about  eighty  —  a 
thorough  treatment  of  these  sciences  was  impossible, 

1  This  was  not  the  case.    The  chair  would  never  have  been  created  but  for 
Drummond's  personality,  and  Mr.  Stevenson's  generous  offer. 

2  The  secretaryship  of  the  Shipping  Commission. 
8  See  above,  page  1 30. 


1884.  269 

and  students  who  had  already  taken  any  of  them  at 
the  University  must  have  found  Drummond's  teach- 
ing rudimentary.  But,  as  an  '  old  student '  has  said,1 
*  Drummond  did  his  students  a  world  of  good  by 
teaching  them  some  of  the  general  principles  which 
underlie  all  science,  and  by  making  them  feel  that 
truth  is  indivisible,  whether  it  be  of  science  or  religion. 
He  taught  his  students  at  least  not  to  fear  science; 
and  if  they  could  not  get  a  complete  reconciliation, 
meanwhile  they  must  work  with  broad,  flexible  hy- 
potheses which  would  keep  their  minds  from  harden- 
ing and  narrowing.  Once  a  week  at  College  he  used 
to  give  his  class  special  lectures,  beginning  with  the 
evolution  of  the  world,  and  coming  down  to  the  evolu- 
tion of  life.  These  were  intensely  interesting,  and 
had  a  certain  apologetic  purpose,  and  were  more  use- 
ful than  the  mere  teaching  of  the  rudiments  of  science.' 
Probably  Drummond  did  even  more  good  to  his 
students  in  another  way.  The  education  of  nearly  all 
of  them  had  been  confined  to  languages,  literature, 
and  philosophy,  with  some  mathematics.  He  drew 
their  attention  to  the  common  facts  of  nature.  About 
three  weeks  after  the  beginning  of  the  session,  he  used 
to  set  what  he  called  an  '  ignorance  examination.' 
The  questions  were  such  as :  '  What  are  air,  water, 
earth  ?  What  is  the  use  of  a  leaf  ?  What  makes  a 
leaf  fall?  What  is  the  use  of  a  flower?  What  do 
trees  live  on  ?  What  makes  the  sea  salt  ?  Why  are 
mountainous  districts  rainy  ?  What  colour  or  colours 
are  the  stars?  Define  a  volcano.  What  happens 
chemically,  first  in  striking,  second  in  burning,  a 
wooden  match?  Name  any  two  of  Mr.  Darwin's 
works,  and  their  theses.  Define  Natural  Selection.' 
No  marks  were  given  for  the  answers.  Each  paper 

1  Article  in  the*  Woman  at  Home  for  1897,  by  H.  B. 


270  HENRY  DRUMMOND 

was  treated  as  if  anonymous,  but  it  was  carefully 
reviewed  before  the  whole  class,  and  thus  students 
received  a  healthy  knowledge  of  their  ignorance, 
both  of  the  common  facts  of  nature  and  of  the 
dominant  methods  of  science. 

Drummond  remembered  his  ordination  vows,  and 
welcomed  his  work  in  the  College  for  the  time  which 
it  left  him  to  minister  to  a  far  wider  congregation  in 
the  matters  of  morality  and  religion.  Of  this  ministry 
an  enormous  increase  was  brought  to  him  by  the  fame 
of  his  book.  Having  read  his  African  journal,  one 
is  tempted  to  regret  that  he  did  not  spend  a  quiet 
year  in  elaborating  the  results  of  his  travels  into  a 
careful  treatise  upon  the  geology  and  resources  of  the 
Zambezi  and  the  Nyasa  regions.  He  could  have  given 
us  such  a  work,  and  it  would  have  established  his 
scientific  reputation  upon  a  height  from  which  his 
subsequent  ministry  might  have  been  directed  with 
perhaps  even  greater  force  than  it  actually  achieved. 
That  he  considered  the  question  is  clear  from  the 
following  letter  from  R.  W.  Barbour:  — 

THE  FREE  MANSE,  CULTS,  ABERDEEN,  i7th  August,  1884. 

'  Henry  is  here  and  it  is  good  to  entertain  angels 
awares  or  unawares.  I  expect  the  Lord  often  looked 
like  he  does,  a  mere  man  of  the  world,  dining  out 
and  living  in  rich  men's  houses  —  to  the  Pharisees  at 
least. 

'  Henry  says  it  is  his  birthday  —  he  is  thirty-three 
to-day  —  but  it  has  felt  liker  my  own.  He  spoke  to  us 
to-night  on  Paul's  Hymn  of  Heavenly  Love  in  the 
thirteenth  of  First  Corinthians,  and  it  was  like  being 
in  heaven  or  in  sight  of  it,  to  hear  him.  One  had  the 
sweet  pain  of  seeing  something  which  he  might  strive 
after  for  many  days. 


1884 

'  Monday,  8.20  P.M. 

'  I  have  just  been  down  seeing  Mr.  ,  who  was 

announced  at  eight.  I  went  in  fear  and  trembling, 
lest  he  should  be  going  to  raise  a  cry  about  Drum- 
mond's  doctrine,  or  ask  me  to  hold  a  franchise  meet- 
ing, but  —  it  was  ordinary  business.  I  expect  Henry 
will  leave  to-day  to  see  after  his  MSS.  for  winter. 
He  is  hesitating  whether  to  give  some  time  to  vigor- 
ous scientific  work,  as  a  monograph  on  some  of  his 
African  spoils,  or  whether  to  go  in  entirely  for  evan- 
gelism. I  think  the  latter  will  have  it.' 

The  latter  did  have  it,  and  could  not  but  have  it. 
Since  his  return  from  Africa  Drummond  was  met  by 
numerous  appeals  for  counsel  in  religious  difficulties 
and  for  assistance  in  moral  and  social  work.  He 
found  door  after  door  opened  to  him  among  classes  of 
men  to  which  the  ordinary  ministers  of  religion  had  no 
access,  or  having  access,  upon  which  they  had  no  real 
influence.  Into  two  spheres,  especially,  there  seemed 
to  be  a  strong  call  for  him  to  enter.  His  work  in  one 
of  these,  the  life  of  our  universities,  was  large  enough 
to  need  here  a  chapter  to  itself.  At  present  we  may 
take  the  other. 

So  distinguished  a  writer  as  the  author  of  Natural 
Law  in  the  Spiritual  World  was  bound  to  be  sought 
after  by  the  more  religious  portions  of  what  is  termed 
'Society.'  By  1884  the  evangelical  movement  in 
Great  Britain  had  lost  much  of  the  doctrinal  influence 
which  it  previously  exercised  upon  the  higher  ranks 
of  the  community.  The  more  serious  among  the 
younger  generation  of  these  were  loyal  to  Christ, 
anxious  for  His  sake  to  do  good  works,  but,  like  many 
men  and  women  of  their  time,  in  considerable  intel- 
lectual uncertainty.  In  the  author  of  Natural  Law 
they  discovered  a  teacher,  with  a  strong  fresh  mind 


272  HENRY   DRUMMOND 

of  his  own;  not  only  a  subtle  expert  in  religious 
experience,  but  one  who  enforced  the  principles  of 
Christianity  apart  from  ecclesiastical  formulas.  From 
such  persons  of  position  there  came  in  April  and  May, 
1884,  a  number  of  letters,  either  addressed  to  Drum- 
mond  himself  asking  an  interview,  or  addressed  to 
those  who  knew  him  asking  an  introduction.  When 
the  writers  met  him  they  found  a  man  of  sim- 
plicity and  winsomeness,  courteous,  unassuming,  and 
generous  in  the  communication  of  his  apparently 
exhaustless  stores  of  experience  in  dealing  with  men 
and  women  with  religious  difficulties.  Our  national 
life  is  probably  nowhere  so  sensitive  to  influence  as 
throughout  its  upper  ranks,  and  the  individuals  who 
had  been  benefited  by  Drummond  busied  themselves 
to  extend  the  boon  throughout  their  class.  The  cor- 
respondence which  ensued  is  one  of  very  great  interest, 
but  it  involves  the  views  and  personal  experiences  of 
so  many  who  are  still  alive,  that  it  is  impossible  to 
quote  largely  from  it.  Among  the  new  friends 
found  by  Drummond  were  Lord  and  Lady  Aberdeen, 
with  whom  his  relations  for  the  rest  of  his  life  were 
most  close  and  affectionate.  The  following  corre- 
spondence with  Lord  Aberdeen  relates  to  a  movement 
for  which  Drummond's  help  was  asked,  and  which 
took  shape  not  only  in  the  remarkable  addresses  de- 
livered in  Grosvenor  House,  but  in  the  still  more  prof- 
itable enlistment  of  a  number  of  the  families  of 
London  society  in  various  forms  of  philanthropy. 
The  nine  months  which  intervened  between  his  return 
from  Africa  and  the  date  at  which  this  new  crusade 
opened,  Drummond  spent  in  a  visit  to  the  Perth  Con- 
ference ;  in  an  autumn  visit  to  Haddo  House,1  with 
addresses  and  lectures  in  the  neighbourhood ;  in  a 

1  Lord  Aberdeen's. 


273 

visit  to  the  Y.M.C.A.  Convention  in  Dublin;  in  his 
winter  work  at  college ;  in  lecturing  on  Africa  in 
Liverpool,  before  the  Edinburgh  Philosophical  Insti- 
tution, and  elsewhere ;  and  in  organising  the  religious 
movement  among  the  students  of  the  Scottish  uni- 
versities. 

To  the  Earl  of  Aberdeen 
'3  CARLTON  GARDENS,  GLASGOW,  March  5,  1885. 

1 1  quite  thought  I  should  have  been  able  to  have 
answered  your  letter  and  Lady  Aberdeen's  to- 
day. But  light  comes  very  slowly;  and  though  I 
have  been  thinking  over  the  request  very  seriously, 
I  am  still  in  the  twilight.  I  fear  I  must  therefore 
beg  you  to  allow  me  a  few  more  hours  before 
writing  in  detail.  My  difficulties  are :  — 

'i.  To  lecture  in  the  circumstances  named  would 
be  a  matter  of  very  great  delicacy  and  difficulty, 
and  to  prepare  a  set  of  lectures  worthy  of  the 
object  would  require  months  of  careful  prepa- 
ration. 

'2.  I  am  seriously  involved  just  now  in  the  work 
among  students.  This  is  spreading  daily,  and  is 
now  extending  to  the  other  universities.  Whither 
it  may  develop  one  cannot  foresee ;  but,  as  nothing 
like  this  has  ever  happened  in  my  lifetime,  I  am 
not  sure  but  that  my  immediate  duty  lies  here. 
We  have  many  plans  for  April,  and  there  are  very 
few  men  among  the  professors  who  give  any  help. 
What  makes  me  shrink  from  the  idea  of  running 
away  from  it  prematurely  is  the  profound  convic- 
tion that  this  university  movement  is  a  distinct 
work  of  God  —  such  a  work  as  I,  after  consider- 
able experience  of  evangelistic  work,  have  never 
seen  before. 


274  HENRY   DRUMMOND 

'  I  must  not  disguise  from  you,  also,  that  I  would 
have  little  faith  in  my  lecturing  producing  any 
permanent  result.  The  lecture,  as  a  weapon, 
always  has  seemed  to  me  a  poor  influence  in 
religion;  and  although,  as  Lady  Aberdeen  very 
kindly  says,  my  book  has  won  for  me  some  friends, 
I  cannot  shut  my  eyes  to  the  fact  that  it  has  also 
won  me  many  enemies  —  witness  the  critic  who 
dances  upon  me  so  mercilessly  in  this  month's 
Contemporary. 

'  I  should  really  have  some  faith  in  addresses  of  a 
simple  kind — not  written  lectures,  but  clear  state- 
ments of  what  Christianity  really  is,  what  personal 
religion  really  is,  and  evangelical  matter  generally. 
To  attempt  this  would  be  very  much  more  trying ; 
but  if  the  call  came  I  would  feel  that  I  dared  not 
shrink  from  it.  .  .  .' 

'March  ;th,  1885. 

'  Your  most  considerate  letter,  this  moment  handed 
to  me,  relieves  me  much.  It  was  the  word  lecture 
that  frightened  me.  This  simplifies  matters 
greatly.' 

Finally  Drummond  agreed  to  give  three  addresses 
in  the  ballroom  of  Grosvenor  House,  the  Duke  of 
Westminster's,  on  the  afternoons  of  the  last  Sunday 
in  April  and  of  the  first  two  in  May.  Between  the 
second  and  third  he  joined  us  at  our  club,  held  this 
year  at  Grasmere,  and  told  us  of  his  new  work.  The 
only  record  I  have  been  able  to  discover  is  one  by 
Robert  Barbour  in  a  letter  to  his  wife. 


z885  275 

from  Robert   W.  Barbour 
TRINCE  OF  WALES'  HOTEL,  GRASMERE,  May  5,  1885. 

'  I  slipped  along  the  passage  here,  guided  by  the  sound 
of  friendly  voices,  and  slapped  Ewing  on  the  shoulder 
as  he  was  entering  the  room.  Such  a  burst  of  greet- 
ings met  me  from  half  a  dozen  voices  and  faces: 
Frank's  and  Henry's  and  George's,  Mr.  Stalker's,  Mr. 
Ross's,  Mr.  Brown's,  and  Mr.  Skene's.  Mr.  Watson  is 
going  abroad,  so  cannot  come.  The  change  from  the 
darkness  and  the  raw  night  air  with  a  chill  north  wind 
blowing  in  my  face  as  we  drove,  my  dogcart-man  and 
I,  the  ten  miles  along  the  lakes  from  Windermere,  to 
the  light  and  warmth  of  our  snug  dining-room,  was 
very  pleasant.  I  think  the  faces  all  look  older — 
perhaps  having  missed  a  year  makes  a  difference  — 
and  I  am  older  too.  The  time  alone  last  year  drew 
me  apart  from  every  one,  I  think,  only  to  be  nearer  of 
course,  but  still  not  to  depend  on  any  one  outside  so 
much  henceforward.  Henry  looks  least  changed.  His 
Master  makes  him  ever  young.1  He  came  up  from 
London,  where  he  has  been  giving  addresses  in  Gros- 
venor  House  these  two  Sabbaths  past.  At  supper 
Mr.  Stalker  was  the  chief  talker,  taking  off  (in  a 
genial  sympathetic  way)  several  of  Henry's  "  colts,"  and 
what  things  they  had  said  and  done  in  his  pulpit.'2 

'May  6th. 

'  We  are  just  in  from  a  herrlicher  Tag.  We  started 
at  10.30  for  Helvellyn.  .  .  .  The  climb  was  be- 
guiled by  Henry  telling  me  of  the  Grosvenor  House 
meetings.  They  are  held  in  the  ballroom  of  the 

1  At  another  '  Gaiety '  meeting  Barbour  bad  described  Drummond  '  princely 
and  bewitching  as  ever.' 

2  These  were  the  members  of  the  Students'  Holiday  Mission.     See  below,  pp. 
3278-. 


2/6  HENRY   DRUMMOND 

duke's  house,  which  may  hold  650.  The  invitation 
is  made  through  the  society  column  of  the  Morning 
Post.  Any  one  who  wants  to  come  may  call  for  a 
ticket  at  Lord  Aberdeen's.  The  first  day  the  place 
was  filled,  and  none  were  turned  away.  The  second 
another  room  was  thrown  open.  There  is  no  service 
—  just  an  address  for  an  hour.  The  first  day  Forster, 
Childers,  etc.,  were  sitting  next  to  him  on  the  platform 
and  the  room  was  full  of  members  of  the  Upper 
House.  They  came  expecting  to  hear  a  lecture  on 
science,  but  Henry  took  the  simplest  evangelical  sub- 
ject he  could  —  about  Conversion.  He  never  felt  so 
horrid  in  his  life,  but  I  think  he  must  have  been 
greatly  helped.  At  the  end  he  asked  them  to  engage 
with  him  in  prayer.  He  said  it  seemed  to  take  them 
by  surprise,  but  they  all  knelt  down.  It  is  a  wonder- 
ful opportunity  God  is  giving  him,  and  he  is  wonder- 
fully fitted  for  it.  Looking  at  him  moving  among 

us,  I  have  the  feeling  I  used   to  have  about : 

it  is  a  noble  creature  of  God.  We  must  remember 
him  there  again  next  Sunday.' 

How  those  meetings  impressed  a  part  of  London 
society  may  be  seen  in  the  following  extracts  from  an 
article  in  the  World,  May,  1885,  entitled  'Wanted,  a 
Religion':  — 

'Mr.  Drummond  has  struck  out  a  completely  new  line  of 
his  own,  in  which  there  is  nothing  that  is  not  dignified,  noth- 
ing that  is  not  telling.  To  be  able  to  collect,  even  under  a 
ducal  roof,  on  four1  successive  Sunday  afternoons,  four  or 
five  hundred  people,  many  of  them  of  the  highest  distinction, 
social  and  intellectual,  is  a  triumph  of  ingenious  ingenuity 
\_sic~\.  Mr.  Drummond  has  invented  a  gospel,  which,  if  not 
entirely  new,  has  just  enough  novelty  about  it  to  pique  and 
interest  the  fashionable  public,  and  which  can  be  perfectly 

1  Three? 


i 88 5  277 

well  reconciled  with  the  somewhat  effete,  but  always  to  be 
respected,  evangel  of  the  New  Testament.  He  applies  the 
principle  of  evolution,  the  law  of  the  survival  of  the  fittest,  to 
spiritual  existence.  He  does  not  consign  to  perdition  all 
who  fail  to  lead  a  highly  spiritual  life  here.  He  only  reminds 
them  that  they  are  not  qualifying  themselves  for  the  life  to 
come.  For  the  effect  he  has  produced,  everything  depends 
upon  his  management  of  his  material.  Sometimes  his  reli- 
gion and  his  science  have  fused  their  currents  and  travelled 
in  a  common  stream.  Sometimes  they  have  run  in  parallel 
channels.  Sometimes  their  relations  have  been  of  a  different 
kind,  and  the  lecturer  has  employed  religion  as  the  gilding 
of  the  pill  of  science,  or  science  as  the  rationalising  witness 
to  religion.  But  whatever  the  method  adopted,  the  result 
produced  has  been  the  same;  and  the  audience  has  departed 
profoundly  impressed  by  the  words  of  wisdom  and  solemnity 
issuing  from  the  lips  of  a  young  man  with  a  good  manner, 
a  not  ill-favoured  face,  a  broad  Scotch  accent,  clad  in  a 
remarkably  well-fitting  frock  coat,  and  reciting,  after  his 
prelection,  the  Lord's  Prayer  in  a  tone  of  devout  humility 
remarkable  for  the  professors  of  the  period.  Mr.  Drummond 
has,  in  fact,  produced  upon  his  hearers  the  impression  that 
the  teachings  of  science  are,  upon  the  whole,  in  favour  of 
revealed  religion.  .  .  . 

'  Nothing  could  be  easier,  and  nothing  could  be  more  con- 
temptible, than  to  disparage  or  satirise  the  serious  struggle 
which  society  is  now  making  to  obtain  from  some  one  of  its 
many  spiritual  teachers  a  new  revelation,  or,  if  not  that,  to  have 
its  feet  directed  into  the  ways  of  a  new  religion.  Nothing, 
again,  could  be  easier  than  to  take  a  more  or  less  humorous 
view  of  Mr.  Drummond's  dissertations  at  Grosvenor  House. 
Naturally,  the  professional  religionists  are  a  little  jealous 
of  his  success.  The  Church  papers  hint  that  he  is  an  ama- 
teur and  a  quack.  But  then  that  is  only  professional  jealousy. 
There  seems  to  be  no  reason  why  evangelists  like  Mr.  Drum- 
mond should  not  cooperate  with  the  salaried  interpreters  of 
another  evangel,  now  some  nineteen  centuries  old.  Or  it 
may  be  said  that  Mr.  Drummond  would  scarcely  take  a  lead- 
ing part  in  a  performance  which  certainly  seems  to  have  a 


278  HENRY  DRUMMOND 

good  deal  that  is  artificial  about  it,  if  he  had  any  store  of  the 
sincerity  and  earnestness  which  ought  to  be  the  attributes  of 
the  religious  teacher.  Upon  this  it  is  enough  to  observe  that 
audiences  as  fastidious  and  discriminating,  and  as  highly  edu- 
cated, as  any  in  the  world,  have  been  won  over  by  his  utter- 
ances. That  he  will  produce  a  moral  or  social  revolution  is 
no  more  to  be  anticipated  than  that  he  will  change  the  future 
history  of  the  human  race.  But  that  he  will  be  instrumental 
in  effecting  an  appreciable  degree  of  improvement  in  our  social 
tone  is  far  from  impossible.  He  may,  indeed,  almost  claim  to 
have  done  this  already.  He  has  caused  society  to  talk,  not 
only  about  himself,  but  about  the  subjects  which  he  expounds. 
Perhaps  the  interest  he  has  created  in  the  topics  that  throng 
the  borderland  between  physics  and  faith  may  not  be  perma- 
nent. But  what  is  permanent  in  these  times  ?  And  it  is  quite 
enough  to  know  that  his  words  do,  for  the  time,  provide  mat- 
ter for  reflection.  Granting  even  that  religion,  or  the  new 
blend  between  science  and  religion,  is  taken  up  by  society  as 
a  species  of  diversion,  and  occupies  the  same  moral  level  as 
philanthropy,  charity  organisation,  domiciliary  visits  paid  to 
the  poor  at  the  East  End,  music,  old  china,  or  lawn  tennis, 
that  is  no  reason  why  it  should  be  discouraged.  It  is  better 
for  society  to  be  occupied  in  this  manner  than  in  many  others 
which  might  be  mentioned.  And,  indeed,  to  those  who  look 
a  little  beneath  the  surface,  there  is  something  not  only  in- 
structive, but  pathetic,  in  the  avidity  with  which  English 
society,  supposed  to  be  irreligious,  but  really  the  most  reli- 
gious in  the  world,  snatches  at  the  spiritual  mixture  prepared 
for  it  by  Mr.  Drummond.  What  —  such  is  the  question 
which  presents  itself  to  many  minds  —  might  not  be  hoped 
for,  if  some  new  and  authentic  revelation  were  to  be  delivered 
to  society  by  a  greater  even  than  Mr.  Drummond?' 

No  one,  however,  can  estimate  the  force  of  the 
Grosvenor  House  addresses  who  has  not  seen  some, 
at  least,  of  the  appeals  which  they  called  forth.  As 
always  when  he  spoke,  Drummond  drew  to  himself 
the  secrets  of  many  lives,  and  became,  to  a  large  num- 
ber of  them,  an  influence  of  light  and  hope.  The  fol- 


i '88 '5  279 

lowing  letter  from  himself  reports  the  beginnings  of 
an  effort  to  organise  women  of  the  West  End  of  Lon- 
don into  an  Associated  Workers'  League,  for  social 
and  religious  help  among  the  poor :  — 

To  Mrs.  Simpson,  Edinburgh 

'37,  GROSVENOR  SQUARE,  LONDON,  July  10,  1885. 
1 .  .  .  You  ask  me  what  I  have  been  doing  ?  Meet- 
ing, meetings,  meetings.  These  have  been  mostly 
in  private  houses,  and  we  are  now  seeking  a  little 
fruit.  It  ripens  slowly  in  this  climate,  but  there 
are  signs  of  life  on  every  hand.  The  latest  devel- 
opment is  a  "  Workers'  League "  to  set  all  the 
unemployed  in  the  West  End  to  work.' 

The  League  was  started  in  July  at  a  drawing-room 
meeting,  at  which  Drummond  gave  an  address,  de- 
scribing the  need  for  '  some  kind  of  link  among 
workers  with  a  view  to  assistance  in  their  difficulties 
and  encouragement  in  their  efforts.  The  objects  of 
the  League  were  to  introduce  those  desiring  work  to 
fields  of  usefulness  best  suited  to  their  special  gifts ;  to 
reinforce  existing  agencies  with  workers ;  to  form  a 
workers'  exchange ;  and  to  help  workers  in  the  country 
during  their  temporary  residence  in  London  by  bring- 
ing them  into  contact  with  actual  work  there.'  The 
proposal  was  eagerly  welcomed,  and  many  names 
were  given  in  at  the  first  meeting.  In  the  second  year 
ninety-eight  were  added,  and  by  1890  the  total  mem- 
bership was  240.  Reports  were  periodically  asked 
from  workers,  and  the  endeavour  was  made  to  inspire 
in  the  members  '  the  true  temper  of  work,  as  distinct 
from  mere  busyness  in  good  works.'  An  appeal,  signed 
by  Lady  Tavistock,  says :  — 

'  Thought  must  be  below  all,  and  deep  purpose  and 


280  HENRY   DRUMMOND 

much  dependence  on  God,  or  our  efforts  will  degener- 
ate into  mere  restlessness,  and  we  shall  exhaust  our- 
selves and  other  people,  while  we  effect  nothing  of  any 
permanence  or  value/ 

In  the  end  of  May,  1885,  Drummond  was  the  guest 
at  Holyrood  Palace  of  Lord  and  Lady  Aberdeen, 
while  the  former  filled  the  office  of  the  Queen's  Lord 
High  Commissioner  to  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
Church  of  Scotland.  In  July  he  was  back  in  Lon- 
don, holding  meetings  and  organising  the  Associated 
Workers'  League,  as  above  described.  August  he 
spent  at  home  in  Stirling,  and  fishing  at  Lairg  in 
Sutherland.  In  September  and  October  he  passed 
some  weeks  at  Haddo  House,  and  went  to  the  Aber- 
deen meeting  of  the  British  Association,  at  which  he 
read  a  paper  before  the  Geological  Section.  On  Sunday 
evenings  he  gave  addresses  in  the  chapel  of  Haddo 
House  to  congregations  consisting  of  the  household, 
the  guests,  and  residents  in  the  neighbourhood. 

(  HADDO  HOUSE,  Sept.  17,  1885. 

'  All  the  wise  men  from  the  Association  are  here, 
resting  after  their  labours  —  among  them  Lord 
Rayleigh,  Sir  John  and  Lady  Lubbock,  Lady 
Boyle,  Professor  Masson,  Mr.  Du  Maurier  of 
Punch,  and  other  celebrities.' 

'Friday,  Sept.  25,  1885. 

'  Still  in  the  North,  though  I  am  now  wearying  to 
have  done  with  it.  But  I  have  a  service  on  Sab- 
bath and  one  or  two  of  an  important  nature  next 
week',  which  will  keep  me  a  few  days  longer. 
Most  probably  I  will  wind  up  Haddo  with  a 
meeting  on  Sabbath  week.' 


188$  281 

The  following  letter  from  Robert  Barbour  gives  a 
portrait  of  Drummond,  as  he  showed  to  his  friends  in 
those  days.  The  rapid  descent  upon  them  and  the 
swift  flight  were  very  characteristic :  — 

'  STUDY  ROOM,  CULTS,  Monday  night, 
'Oct.  10,  1885. 

'  I  have  had  a  great  treat  to-day. 

'  As  I  was  seeing  A.  into  the  train,  who  should  seize 
me  by  the  arms  but  Henry !  He  was  the  old  charac- 
ter—  black  and  white  check  tweeds,  brown  hat,  dark 
green  plaid,  and  princely  swing  —  stepping  into  the 
12.20  for  Aboyne.  He  was  fresh  from  Haddo,  where 
he  has  been  spending  the  time  since  the  British 
Association  salmon-fishing  and  men-fishing  together. 
Lubbock,  Sedgwick,  Trevelyan,  etc.,  were  among  his 
companions.  .  .  .  Each  Sabbath  evening  he  has 
spoken  there  in  the  chapel,  suiting  his  theme  to  the 
special  guests.  On  Saturday  they  had  a  kind  of 
Perth  Conference,  with  two  or  three  hundred  of  the 
farmers'  wives  and  daughters  around,  to  start  the 
Haddo  House  Association's  work  for  the  year. 
The  earl  and  Henry  were  the  speakers. 

4 1  left  my  errands  and  came  back  to  Cults  by  the 
12.30,  deposited  his  wraps  at  the  Manse,  and  then  had 
a  glorious  two  hours'  walk  in  the  face  of  the  bracing 
west  wind,  gazing  with  delight  at  the  autumn  woods 
and  the  grand  blue  hills  and  moors  behind,  round  by 
the  back  of  Hillton  on  to  the  Skene  Road  and  so 
home  by  Countesswells  and  Craigton.  "  Das  war 
eine  Freude,  nicht  wahr?".  .  .  M.  gave  us  dinner, 
all  her  pieces  de  persistance  et  resistance  with  coffee. 

'  Then  followed  a  chat,  face  to  face  and  heart  to 
heart,  by  the  study  fire,  and  a  solemn  moment  of 
prayer.  And  so  the  Bird  of  Paradise  spread  his 
wings,  and  I  saw  him  no  more.' 


282  HENRY  DRUMMOND 

In  October  Drummond  spent  a  week  geologising, 
in  preparation  for  a  case  in  the  Court  of  Session, 
to  which  he  was  summoned  as  an  expert  witness ; 
and  in  the  end  of  the  month  he  started  his  short 
mission  in  Oxford,  which  we  may  reserve  for  the 
general  history  of  the  Student  Movement  in  next 
chapter,  From  Oxford  he  returned  to  the  winter  ses- 
sion in  Glasgow.  Here  are  a  few  extracts  from  his 
letters  during  '  a  terribly  busy '  session  —  his  classes  at 
college,  lectures  in  many  places,  social  operations  in 
Glasgow,  and  a  series  of  addresses  to  the  Edinburgh 
students:  — 

'  I  am  glad  you  are  taking  to  Emerson.  I  have 
been  reading  Herbert  Spencer  this  week,  and  I 
must  say  with  great  admiration.  I  read  through 
Queen  Mab,  which  is  cleverly  done,  but  does  not 
come  to  much  except  destruction.  The  best 
thing  in  it  is  where  the  author  calls  the  Thirty- 
nine  Articles  "  tinned  theology." 

'  Here  I  was  suddenly  interrupted  by  the  advent  of 
the  Edinburgh  deputation — four  students,  whom 
it  really  does  one  good  to  see.  Only  they  won't 
go  away.  They  have  been  five  hours  in  the 
house  already.  .  .  . 

'  I  had  a  great  day  with  the  students.  They  sat 
eleven  hours,  and  we  went  the  whole  round  of 
the  theologies.  Their  request  was  that  I  should 
go  to  Edinburgh  every  Sunday  in  February  and  if 
possible  March.  I  hope  at  least  to  do  something. 
.  .  .  On  Sunday  there  is  to  be  a  monster  meet- 
ing here  at  which  Dr.  Barbour  and  I  are  to 
speak.  It  was  begun  by  the  Edinburgh  students, 
and  I  took  it  last  night  and  found  over  a  thousand 
people  present. 


1885-1886  283 

4 1  have  just  (Dec.  12,  1885)  finished  an  article  for 
the  January  Nineteenth  Century^  You  will  be 
shocked  to  hear  that  it  is  not  about  beetles,  but 
about  Mr.  Gladstone  and  Mr.  Huxley.  I  fear  it 
is  really  hard  on  Mr.  Gladstone ;  it  certainly  is, 
though  I  have  been  as  gentle  as  I  could.  But  I 
could  not  help  the  thing:  it  is  a  real  duty;  Sir 

also  works  on  Mr.  Gladstone's  lines, 

and  they  do  incalculable  harm  to  men  of  science, 
so  I  write  to  repudiate  their  whole  position  in  the 
name  of  scientific  theology.  ...  In  the  original 
MS.  I  had  in  a  page  of  admiration,  but,  on  second 
and  third  thoughts,  I  reluctantly  compelled  my- 
self to  exclude  it.  It  was  not  germane  to  the 
subject,  and  would  not  come  in  without  a  sense 
of  forcing,  which  would  have  spoiled  every- 
thing. .  .  .' 

'New  Years  Day,  1886. —  I  look  over  the  clean  fig- 
ures of  our  Almanac  and  the  yet  as  blank  pages 
of  its  diary  with  strange  wondering  as  to  what 
they  hold  in  store.  We  ought  all  to  be  getting 
into  the  heart  of  our  life-work  now,  and,  in  feel- 
ing how  much  there  is  to  do  and  how  short  the 
time  is,  one  cannot  but  pray  that  no  day  of  it 
may  be  misspent.' 

To  Drummond  and  his  correspondents,  the  year 
1886  was  to  bring  many  changes  and  many  cares.  In 
February  the  political  life  of  the  nation  was  convulsed 
by  Mr.  Gladstone's  return  to  power  and  his  declara- 
tion of  a  policy  of  Home  Rule  for  Ireland.  The  Earl 
of  Aberdeen  was  appointed  Viceroy  of  Ireland,  and 
offered  Henry  Drummond  a  post  on  his  staff.  He 
replied  as  follows :  — 

1  See  above,  end  of  chap.  x. 


284  HENRY   DRUMMOND 

To  -Lord  Aberdeen 

'GLASGOW,  Feb.  12,  1886. 

'  My  immediate  feeling  (after  the  blush  of  thanks, 
which  you  will  so  fully  understand  that  I  need 
not  open  with  any  formal  reference  to  it)  —  my 
immediate  feeling  is  one  of  intense  shrinking 
from  a  post  of  such  honour  and  publicity.  I  feel 
it  is  not  for  me  at  all.  As  I  have  often  told  you, 
the  Tub  is  the  place  for  me  and  not  the  Castle ; 
and,  at  the  moment,  I  do  not  see  how  I  am  to  dis- 
place this  feeling.  But,  of  course,  one's  mere 
feelings  are  neither  here  nor  there,  and  the  real 
consideration  is  what  is  right.  Now,  I  am  not 
sure  that  it  would  be  right  for  me  to  do  this  — 
right  in  connection  with  one's  real  work  and 
mission  in  life.  I  need  not  enlarge  upon  this ; 
you  will  know  what  I  mean.  Try  for  a  moment 
to  look  at  it  from  my  point  of  view — not  that  you 
have  not  done  that,  but  I  mean  in  this  relation  — 
in  relation  to  my  friends  and  my  audience,  past 
and  future.  For  Mrs.  Grundy  I  do  not  care,  I 
hope;  but  for  others,  for  the  students  and  for 
those  to  whom  one  may  yet  speak  of  a  Spiritual 
World,  one  would  like  to  avoid  even  the  appear- 
ance of  ambition.  Is  it  not  so  ?  On  the  other 
hand,  what  more  could  I  do  in  an  official  relation 
than  as  a  full  private?  The  difference  could 
only  be  in  name ;  and,  if  that  name  involves  a 
loss  in  the  highest  sense  without  there  being  any 
real  gain,  ought  I  to  seek  it?  This  is  how  the 
thing  strikes  me  at  the  moment.  I  wish  I  could 
talk  it  over  with  you,  for  writing  is  so  stupid;  but 
I  have  told  you  frankly  what  is  in  my  mind.  If 
I  could  be  of  real  use  in  the  more  official  capacity, 


i886  285 

that  of  course  would  weigh ;  but  I  can  be  of  none, 
and  I  am  fearful  lest  I  injure  any  evangelistic 
work  that  may  be  given  me  to  do.  The  Edin- 
burgh work  has  broken  out  in  a  marvellous  man- 
ner last  Sunday,  and  I  shall  be  going  there  for 
some  time,  so  that  the  summer  may  have  calls 
upon  me  which  I  cannot  now  foresee.  So  please 
leave  me  to  think  over  it  for  a  few  days,  and 
judge  this  base  ingratitude  as  gently  as  you  can.' 

The  result  was  that  he  did  not  accept  the  post.  In 
April,  in  the  midst  of  work  for  the  student  movement 
at  Edinburgh,  Aberystwyth,  and  elsewhere,  he  paid 
a  flying  visit  to  Ireland  to  lecture  before  the  Royal 
Dublin  Society  on  Africa,  and  to  prepare  for  a  student 
deputation  to  Trinity  College.  He  was  the  guest  of 
the  Viceroy,  and  re-crossed  the  Channel  with  Mr. 
John  Morley. 

*  Mr.  Morley  told  me  en  route  that  he  had  come 
away  from  Ireland  with  at  least  one  very  definite 
impression  —  the  extraordinary  and  widespread 
influence  for  good  throughout  the  country  of  the 
present  vice-regal  reign,  or,  as  I  ought  to  put  it, 
reigns.  I  think  I  shall  get  to  Killin  on  Monday.' 

It  was  at  Killin  that  year  that  our  club  met,  the  last 
time  we  were  all  together,  for  Ewing  left  soon  after- 
wards for  Melbourne.  Naturally  we  discussed  the 
Home  Rule  question,  on  which  we  were  divided,  and 
the  impending  General  Election.  Drummond  quietly 
stated  both  sides  of  the  case  and  gave  his  reasons  for 
adhering  to  the  portion  of  the  Liberal  party  which  fol- 
lowed Mr.  Gladstone.  He  had  not  been  converted 
by  Mr.  Gladstone's  own  judgment,  nor  had  he  the 
materials  to  form  an  independent  opinion.  Some  of 


286  HENRY  DRUMMOND 

his  nearest  friends  were  hotly  opposed  to  Home  Rule ; 
his  youthful  experiences  in  Dublin  had  given  him 
distrust  of  the  Irish  party1  and  his  natural  caution 
in  such  matters  was  so  great  that  none  of  us  would 
have  been  surprised  if  he  had  not  taken  a  side.  But 
he  had  been  impressed  by  the  evidence  of  Lord  Spen- 
cer, Sir  Robert  Hamilton,  and  other  statesmen  respon- 
sible for  the  government  of  Ireland,  who  had  declared 
for  Home  Rule ;  he  recognised  that  the  policy  was  in 
agreement  with  the  Liberal  principles  which  he  had 
always  professed,  and  he  was  attracted  by  the  moral 
possibilities  which  he  felt  it  to  contain.  Probably,  too, 
he  judged,  as  many  other  Liberals  did,  that  even  if 
Home  Rule  were  never  carried  in  the  form  in  which 
Mr.  Gladstone  projected  it,  —  and  in  a  few  weeks  this 
was  to  become  very  likely,  —  Mr.  Gladstone's  policy 
had  already  created  at  least  the  kind  of  atmosphere 
in  politics  in  which  alone  the  Irish  problem  could 
ripen  to  a  solution.  And  this  may  be  said  to  have 
come  to  pass,  for  on  whatever  side  of  the  question 
men  have  taken  their  stand,  they  must  allow  that  Mr. 
Gladstone's  effort  has  succeeded  in  making  our  former 
policy  towards  Ireland  impossible,  and  has  been  the 
real  cause,  for  instance,  of  the  possibility  of  the  Local 
Government  Act  recently  passed  by  Parliament.  In 
such  opinions  and  expectations  Drummond  had  been 
fortified  by  his  recent  visit  to  Ireland,2  his  conversa- 

1  See  above,  p.  37. 

2  On  this  point  Mr.  Gladstone  had  requested  his  opinion  and  he  sent  it.     He 
received  the  following  reply :  — 

'  10  DOWNING  STREET,  WHITEHALL,  June  i,  1886. 

'  DEAR  MR.  DRUMMOND,  —  I  have  handed  your  letter  to  Mr.  Gladstone,  who 
desires  me  to  ask  you  to  excuse  him  if  he  does  not  write  himself  as  he  is  so  very  busy, 
and  to  say  that  he  is  greatly  obliged  to  you  for  what  you  have  written.  Your  tes- 
timony as  to  the  change  wrought  in  Irish  feeling  is  very  remarkable  and  has 
afforded  Mr.  Gladstone  the  highest  satisfaction.  Yours  very  truly, 

'H.  W.  PRIMROSE.' 


i886  287 

tions  with  Mr.  Morley  and  Sir  Robert  Hamilton, 
and  his  experience  of  the  effect  upon  the  people  of 
the  reign  of  a  Viceroy  who  represented  a  Govern- 
ment pledged  to  Home  Rule.  So  he  was  not  only 
prepared  to  give  his  vote  for  this  at  the  coming 
election,  but  to  speak  in  public  on  its  behalf  with 
conviction  and  even  with  enthusiasm. 

The  diminished  Liberal  party  endeavoured  to  in- 
duce Drummond  to  take  a  further  step.  They  were 
in  sore  need  of  candidates  at  the  election  —  candi- 
dates of  his  class  and  culture  —  and  he  was  urgently 
requested  to  stand  for  several  constituencies.1  The 
Partick  Division  of  Lanarkshire  was  especially  import- 
unate, and  Mr.  Gladstone  himself  wrote  a  strong  letter 
of  persuasion.  But  Drummond  was  wiser  than  his  ad- 
visers, and,  as  at  so  many  other  periods  of  temptation, 
refused  to  launch  upon  a  line  of  life  which  would  have 
distracted  him  from  the  vocation  that  he  felt  and  had 
now  so  amply  proved  to  be  his  own. 

'3,  PARK  CIRCUS,  GLASGOW,  June  17,  1886. 

'  I  found  in  possession  of  my  Tub  a  horrid  monster 
— a  deputation  from  the  Partick  Division  of  Lan- 
arkshire. All  past  refusals  were  fruitless,  although 
I  had  an  hour  with  their  chairman  yesterday,  and 
they  came  to  renew  the  attack.  I  fought  single- 
handed  for  three  hours,  with  what  result  you 
know.' 

1  There  are  letters  to  him  from  Partick,  West  Edinburgh,  and  the  Inverness 
Burghs. 


288  HENRY  DRUMMOND 

To  the  Right  Honourable  W.  E.  Gladstone 

Copy  dated  June  15,  1886. 

'  MY  DEAR  MR.  GLADSTONE,  — 

'  A  letter  from  you  on  the  subject  of  going  into  Par- 
liament I  feel  to  be  a  most  sacred  call.  It  has 
touched  me  unspeakably.  I  am  entirely  un- 
worthy of  a  thing  so  high  and  generous,  and  it  is 
with  a  deep  sense  of  responsibility  that  I  now 
try  to  trust  myself  to  reply. 

'  After  the  most  serious  and  anxious  consideration  I 
fear  I  must  ask  your  forbearance  for  an  answer 
in  the  negative.  I  shall  not  waste  your  time  by 
entering  on  the  many  reasons  which  contribute 
to  a  decision  which  I  offer  you  with  the  profound- 
est  respect  and  regret,  but  as  far  as  my  present 
light  goes  I  feel  that  I  can  serve  you  and  the 
great  cause  better  in  other  ways  than  by  myself 
entering  Parliament.  What  little  I  can  do  as 
regards  the  present  crisis  I  think  I  can  do  to 
equal  purpose  apart  from  the  House  of  Commons, 
and  in  the  long  run  for  the  good  ends  of  which 
this  is  but  a  part. 

'  I  believe  that  by  working  in  the  fixed  walk  of  life 
which  seems  to  be  assigned  to  me,  and  which  re- 
fuses, in  spite  of  private  struggles  and  the  per- 
suasion of  the  wisest  friends,  to  release  me  for 
this  special  service,  I  can  do  more  for  every  cause 
of  truth  and  righteousness. 

'  What  personal  regrets  and  regards  mingle  with 
this  letter  you  can  form  little  idea  of ;  and  I  shall 
not  attempt  to  express  my  sense  of  gratitude  for 
the  extraordinary  honour  and  kindness  of  your 
letter.  —  With  great  respect,  I  remain, 
'  Sincerely  yours, 

'  HENRY  DRUMMOND.' 


i886  289 

But  while  refusing  to  stand  for  any  constituency, 
Drummond  gave  help  to  several  Liberal  candidates. 
He  went  the  round  of  the  Ayr  Burghs  with  his  friend, 
Captain  Sinclair,  and  spoke  also  in  Possilpark  and  at 
Kilmarnock. 

He  was  warmly  attacked  both  by  friends  and  by 
strangers. 

'  A  torrent  of  wrath  from over  the  advertise- 
ment of  the  Home  Rule  meeting.  is  not 

satisfied  yet,  and  the  general  public  is  treating 
me  to  anonymous  letters.  But  really  neither  are 
at  all  severe,  and  I  am  very  far  from  complaining.' 

His  critics  could  have  no  idea  of  how  seriously 
and  how  religiously  he  took  up  the  work  of  which 
they  complained.  His  few  speeches  were  very  care- 
fully planned ;  they  rang  high  and  true,  and,  as  I  find 
from  some  notes  to  friends,  he  did  not  appear  on  those 
political  platforms  without  the  same  kind  of  prepara- 
tion that  he  invariably  made  for  his  religious  addresses. 
When  defeat  came  he  reverently  considered  the  mean- 
ing of  it,  and  his  letters  to  those  to  whom  it  shut  doors 
of  usefulness,  hardly  opened,  are  among  the  finest  he 
wrote. 

Drummond  spent  July  fishing  in  Sutherlandshire 
and  came  to  Glasgow  for  August. 

'  I  have  been  working  like  a  tiger.  No  Scotch 
moor  is  quieter  than  Glasgow  just  now,  and  I 
have  not  seen  one  white  man  since  I  came  back. 
Half  the  churches  were  closed  on  Sunday,  and  I 
worshipped  in  the  slums.  .  .  .  Germany  is  tak- 
ing shape,  and  I  must  work,  work,  work.' 


HENRY  DRUMMOND 

This  was  for  a  visit  to  the  German  universities. 
But  first  Drummond  went  to  Switzerland  with  his 
sisters  for  part  of  September. 

To  Lady  Aberdeen 
i  HOTEL  AXENSTEIN,  LAKE  OF  LUCERNE,  Sept.  2,  1886. 

'  There  is  but  one  spot  in  the  world,  and  its  name  is 
Axenstein.  In  all  my  wanderings  I  never  saw 
anything  to  approach  the  place  from  which  I  now 
scribble.  I  know  you  are  a  heretic  about  Swit- 
zerland, but  ten  minutes  of  this  would  win  you  for 
evermore.  The  scenery  is  of  the  very  noblest 
type  —  mountain,  lake,  and  forest  —  and  this  hotel 
is  surrounded  with  shady  walks,  with  views  break- 
ing out  everywhere  of  the  most  bewildering  beauty 
and  sublimity.  And  —  but  really  you  are  laugh- 
ing. Do  excuse  me,  for  I  had  to  blow  this  off 
before  writing  one  word.  I  have  often  marked 
this  spot  in  my  knapsacking  days  —  a  forest  ledge 
two  thousand  feet  high,  on  a  precipice  falling 
sheer  into  the  lake,  with  a  great  eagle's  nest  of  a 
hotel  —  and  I  always  looked  forward  to  the  quiet 
visit  which  has  now  come.  We  had  engaged 
rooms  in  Paris  on  Tuesday,  but  the  heat  and 
noise  were  intolerable,  so  we  took  the  first  ex- 
press and  came  right  on  to  Lucerne,  and  then 
here  by  steamer.  My  main  mission  to  Paris  was 
to  see  Pasteur  and  go  over  his  laboratory,  but  I 
found  he  had  just  left  for  a  holiday.  We  got 
here  yesterday  afternoon,  and  we  feel  we  would 
just  like  to  stay  here  all  the  time. 

'  No  words  can  —  but  I  must  not  begin  again.  .  .  . 

'  On  the  Calais  ferry  I  crossed  with  Count , 

and  had  an  interesting  talk  with  him.  He  has 


i886  291 

given  up  the  Consulate  (from  political  motives) 
and  has  nothing  to  do  but  travel.  I  feel  very 
sorry  for  him,  for  he  is  an  exceptionally  good 
Frenchman.  You  would  have  been  intensely 
amused  to  see  the  letter  of  introduction  he  gave 
me  to  a  friend  of  his  in  Paris.  I  was  "  un  savant 
tres-religieux,  et  au  meme  moment  double\ment\  un 
homme  du  monde  !  "  Part  of  the  humour  of  the 
thing  consisted,  as  I  afterwards  discovered,  in  his 
friend  Count  T.  being  the  leading  man  at  the 
Paris  Jockey  Club ! ' 

'HOTEL  RIFFEL-ALP,  ZERMATT,  Sept.  12,  1886. 

1 1  am  very  glad  you  are  president.  This  sentence 
is  good  and  contains  all  you  want  for  a  text  to 
speak  on :  "  These  girls  must  be  met,  not  by  au- 
thority, but  with  sympathy  and  respect."  I  am 
sure  these  people  will  trust  you  and  allow  you  to 
say  almost  anything  you  like,  and  I  should  not 
be  afraid  to  speak  plainly.  It  is  a  fine  opportu- 
nity, though  a  very  delicate  one,  to  help  on  the 
modern  movement  towards  a  more  real  and  solid 
faith  and  a  truer  Christianity.  And  I  am  sure  we 
can  do  much  without  breaking  with  the  evan- 
gelicals. .  .  .  Last  Sunday  I  went  to  church 
twice 1  and  got  two  very  fine  sermons  from  Dr. 
Laidlaw  of  Edinburgh.' 

*  VALLOURMANCHE,  Sept.  15. 

1 1  am  at  this  moment  in  a  rustic  inn  in  the  most  glo- 
rious valley  in  Piedmont.  This  is  the  most  deli- 
cious travelling  in  the  world.  One  wanders  where 
one  likes,  stops  where  one  likes,  the  weather  is 
perfect,  the  scenery  glorious,  the  wine  good,  and 

1  At  Interlaken. 


HENRY   DRUMMOND 

the  inns  as  sweet  as  the  Alpine  roses.  To-mor- 
row we  make  for  Milan,  and  on  Saturday  start  for 
the  Italian  lakes.' 

Drummond  stayed  on  in  Switzerland  to  prepare  his 
German  addresses.  He  had  many  opportunities  of 
helping  those  in  religious  doubt  whom  he  met  at  table 
or  by  the  wayside,  and  who  like  all  their  kind  were 
drawn  to  open  their  hearts  to  him.  On  October  i6th 
he  left  for  Tubingen.  I  do  not  know  whether  he 
visited  other  universities,  but  by  October  25th  he  was 
in  Bonn,  of  which  we  will  hear  afterwards. 

By  November  2  he  was  in  Glasgow,  and  'in  a 
whirl  of  work.' 

To  Lady  Aberdeen 

'Dec.  16,  1886. 

1  One  sees  one's  life  in  perspective  when  one  goes 
abroad,  and  to  be  spectators  of  ourselves  is  very 
solemn.  I  have  been  reading  a  new  book  this 
week  which  brings  out  in  a  startling  light  the  old 
distinction  between  "the  ourselves"  in  us  and  our 
mere  outward  talents.  Those  last  are  but  the 
Weapons ;  the  Warrior  is  within.  The  Weapons, 
it  says,  are  but  the  accidents  of  birth,  and  no  more 
to  be  placed  to  our  credit  than  gold  or  clothes  or 
worldly  possessions.  Yet  how  often  we  think  the 
Warrior  is  well  if  but  the  Weapons  do  their 
work;  and  how  much  self-satisfaction  is  based 
upon  what  we,  i.e.  the  Weapons,  not  we  have 
done;  how  little  upon  what  we,  the  real  we  are. 
But  the  measure  of  the  success  of  our  life  can 
only  lie  in  the  gains  of  the  last,  in  the  stature  of 
our  manhood,  in  the  growth  in  unworldliness 
and  moral  elevation  of  our  inner  Self.  But  I 
wonder  what  makes  me  ramble  on  like  this. 


293 

Alas  —  it  is  the  memory  of  a  remorse  which 
always  follows  one  in  one's  own  holidays.  The 
text  I  oftenest  think  on  then  is  this:  "What  is 
the  Man  profited  if  he  gain  the  whole  world  — 
morally  or  spiritually  —  and  lose  his  own  soul.'" 

To  Lord  Aberdeen^ 

'GLASGOW,  Jan.  6,  1887. 

*  MY  DEAR  ABERDEEN,  —  First,  please  look  at  the 
queer  stamp  on  the  outside  of  this  letter.  As 
Viceroy  (temporarily  Ex.)  I  thought  you  would 
like  to  see  the  new  symbols  of  the  Crown,  and 
ordered  a  complete  set, — for  everything  is  changed 
except  the  penny  ones  this  Jubilee  year;  but 
the  telegraph  boy  who  was  despatched  to  the 
General  P.O.  for  them  —  the  local  offices  have  to 
use  up  the  old  ones  —  is  probably  playing  snow- 
balls somewhere  in  the  city,  so  I  fear  this  must 
go  before  I  can  send  them.  I  do  not  know  if 
you  have  a  weakness  for  stamps,  but  I  confess 
this  relic  of  boyhood  still  survives  in  me.  Per- 
haps, however,  in  present  circumstances,  you 
would  prefer  the  boy  to  send  you  the  snowballs. 

I  Pour  moi,    I    have    nothing   to   report.     My   life 

flows  on  in  silence,  almost  in  solitude.  These 
winter  months  I  am  the  pure  Diogenes.  I  read 
a  little  science,  write  ein  wenig,  skate  when  the 
frost  pleases,  and  walk  three  or  four  times  a  week 
with  Dods.  I  like  it  all,  nevertheless,  very  much. 
I  think  I  was  made  to  remain  "  in  der  stilled 

I 1  begin  Edinburgh  on  Sunday.     It  haunts  me  like 
a  nightmare.     The  responsibility  of  these  coming 
Sundays   I  feel  almost  more   than    anything  in 
my  life.' 

1  In  India. 


294  HENRY   DRUMMOND 

To  Lady  Aberdeen 

'  GLASGOW,  Jan.  20,  1887. 

'We  had  a  splendid  meeting  last  Sunday;  and  on 
Sunday  week  the  students  open  a  campaign 
among  the  bigger  Edinburgh  schoolboys.  We 
have  got  the  athletic  men,  whom  the  schoolboys 
all  know,  to  take  this  in  hand,  and  I  think  it 
ought  to  succeed. 

'Mr.  Barbour,  Senior,  died  on  Saturday  night.  I 
was  present  at  the  time  ...  a  very  quiet  and 
beautiful  end.  Robert  is  in  Corsica  for  his  health, 
and  will  feel  it  much.  I  go  to  Bonskeid  on  Sat- 
urday for  the  funeral. 

'Jan.  27,  1887.  —  Edinburgh  was  splendid  on  Sun- 
day. 

*  Feb.  17.  —  Edinburgh  is  as  good  as  ever,  both  the 

boys  and  the  students.  Much  happier.  "  The 
Lord  is  good  to  all." 

*  March  3,  1887.  —  Symptoms  you  now  openly  avow 

of  having  caught  the  Travel  Fever  in  earnest.  I 
have  seen  premonitory  symptoms  of  this  for  some 
time,  and  in  A.'s  last  letter  it  had  gone  the  length 
of  "  spots?  but  I  held  my  counsel  and  kept  silent, 
knowing  the  hour  was  at  hand.  And  now  it  has 
come,  and  I  make  merry.  But  is  it  not  good? 
And  really  wholesome  and  tonic,  and  expansive 
all  round  ?  And  what  a  new  proportion  it  gives 
to  things;  for  example,  "God  so  loved  the  World? 
and  "  The  City  had  twelve  gates,  and  every  one  a 
Pearl." 

'  But  what  it  is  exactly  that  travel  gives,  and  is,  one 
can  scarcely  define,  though  not  the  least  of  it 


i887  295 

must  be  the  immensely  bigger  Environment  to 
think  in. 

1 1  had  forgotten  that  Emerson  did  not  appreciate 
roving,  but  then  he  was  an  American,  and  their 
big  country  saves  them  from  insularity,  so  they 
did  not  need  it.  Speaking  of  Emerson,  I  heard 
this  of  him  lately:  Himself  tottering  on  the  verge 
of  the  grave,  he  went  to  Longfellow's  funeral. 
(L.  was  his  oldest  friend.)  For  some  time  he 
stood  looking  at  the  dead  poet's  face,  and  then 
said,  "  He  was  a  beautiful  soul  .  .  .  but  ...  I 
forget  his  name ! "  (I  do  not  know  in  the  least 
what  recalls  this  here,  but,  as  you  see,  I  am  just 
chatting  to-night.) 

'  In  Edinburgh  the  current  is  flowing  deep  and  strong. 
I  do  not  think  I  would  exchange  that  audience  for 
anything  else  in  the  world.' 

Through  March  the  Edinburgh  meetings  continued 
large  and  enthusiastic.  They  closed  with  a  Com- 
munion Service  on  the  third  Sunday.  For  the  first 
few  days  of  April  Drummond  took  his  own  class  as 
usual  to  Arran,  and  throughout  the  month  was  busy 
arranging  the  Students'  Holiday  Mission. 

'GLASGOW,  May  10,  1887. 

1  Moody  writes  urgently  about  going  to  America  for 
a  students'  gathering,  and  I  think  I  must  go.  I 
am  also  asked  to  give  some  lectures  at  Chautauqua 
(excuse  the  word),  and  thereafter  may  evangelise 
about  among  the  American  and  Canadian  colleges. 
If  I  go,  it  will  be  in  the  beginning  or  middle  of 
June.' 

In  America  he  arrived  on  the  i8th  of  June.  But 
his  work  there  was  among  the  colleges,  and  falls  to  be 
described  in  another  chapter. 


296  HENRY   DRUMMOND 

From  America  Drummond  returned  to  find  his 
father  dangerously  ill.  To  a  friend  watching  beside 
her  mother's  bed  he  wrote  as  follows :  — 

'GLENELM,  STIRLING,  Nov.  10. 

*  This  is  sad  news  your  telegram  brings  me.  I 

wonder  much  how  it  is  at to-day.  I  suppose 

will  have  come,  but  nothing  in  the  world 

can  take  off  the  awe  and  solemnity  of  a  time  like 
this.  I  did  not  tell  you  before  —  for  you  have 
enough  to  bear  —  that  I  am  one  with  you  in 
trouble.  They  wrote  to  Queenstown  to  prepare 
me  for  it,  but  the  meeting  has  been  a  great  shock. 
The  doctors  seem  to  fear  the  worst,  and  I  am 
living  here  at  present,  and  going  in  to  Glasgow 
every  day  for  a  few  hours.  So  you  will  know 
how  I  can  partly  understand  what  is  going  on 
with  you. 

'  How  suddenly  the  water  deepens  sometimes  in 
one's  life !  How  fast  the  bottom  shelves,  and  yet 
how  little  one  knows  the  depths  that  lie  beyond 
—  or  whether  the  currents  are  to  be  swift  or  still ! 

'  Well,  I  suppose  it  must  be  better,  this  deeper  sea, 
than  the  shallows  where  the  children  play.  But 
this  is  not  my  line  to  talk  aloud  like  this:  so 
basta !  But  I  must  add  this.  One  thing  I  am 
learning,  slowly,  to  believe  in  prayer.  So  I  pray 
for  you  all.' 

1 1 4th  Nov.  —  The  thing  that  crushes  is  to  look  on 
silently  at  the  unalleviable  pain  of  those  we  love. 
But  God  knows  the  end ;  and  it  is  His  natural 
order  that  generation  after  generation  should 
pass  away.' 

'  1 6th  Nov. —  I  have  been  reading  an  exquisite  essay 
by  Edwin  Arnold  on  Death,  which  I  shall  send 


297 

you  some  day.  After  all,  what  an  entrancing 
thing  Death  is !  I  am  glad  I  am  an  evolutionist, 
yet  its  surroundings  are  very  terrible,  in  your  case 
terrible  unspeakably.' 

'i8th  Nov. —  I  look  eagerly  for  every  report  from 

.  The  last  looks  as  if  there  might  be  a 

resurrection.  But  living  or  dying  we  are  the 
Lord's.  Trouble  is  not  such  a  new  thing  to  you. 
But  it  is  to  me,  and  I  hear  it  saying  many  things. 
Some  I  never  knew  before ;  others  one  has  heard, 
but  never  believed ;  others  one  has  heard  often, 
and  as  often  forgotten.  But  the  great  benedic- 
tion of  it  seems  to  lie  less  in  the  personal  ele- 
ments than  in  the  larger  views  one  gets  of  what 
is  permanent,  eternal,  and  most  worth  living  for. 

'  My  father  lived  for  these  things  if  ever  man  did. 

'  Pardon  me  writing  more.  He  is  sinking  fast,  and 
the  end  must  be  near.' 

1  22d  Nov. —  I  hope  you  have  found  all  well  on  your 
return.  It  is  a  kind  of  shock  always  to  come  back 
from  a  place  of  great  and  solemn  experiences  and 
find  things  all  going  on  as  if  nothing  had  happened. 
We  tread  the  winepress  alone.  And  yet  it  is  sight 
and  healing  that  the  world  should  be  so  busy  and 
unsympathetic.' 

4  2 gth  Nov.  —  My  father  lingers  on.  We  can  fore- 
cast nothing.' 

'  loth  Dec. —  I  begin  to  think  my  father  is  rallying 
in  earnest.' 

*  3ist  Dec.  —  This  is  the  last  time  I  shall  write  1887. 
I  have  lots  to  say,  but  the  post  goes  earlier  to- 
night, and  I  must  commit  my  wishes  to  the  south 
wind.  Nun  Gott  sei  mit,  durch  dieses  Jahr ! 
And  please  see  the  blue  in  the  sky,  and  there  is 
always  more  than  we  can  see.' 


298  HENRY   DRUMMOND 

1  ist  Jan.  1888.  —  The  end  has  come  now.  My 
father  has  begun  the  New  Year.  He  passed 
away  this  morning  at  five  o'clock.  You  did  not 
know  him,  but  he  was  a  good  soldier.' 

The  winter  and  spring  of  1888  were  spent  by  Drum- 
mond  on  his  college  class,  and  on  what  had  now  be- 
come his  yearly  meetings  for  the  Edinburgh  students.1 
He  also  did  some  literary  work. 

'  Jan.  28th. —  I  have  become  a  veritable  hermit-crab, 
so  far  as  that  is  consistent  with  about  ten  meet- 
ings per  week.  In  the  -intervals  of  making  new 
addresses 2  I  am  doing  a  little  (strictly  private  and 
confidential)  to  the  Ascent  of  Man,  but  the  prog- 
ress is  miserable.' 

'  March  5th.  —  I  am  too  exhausted  after  this  to  add 
more.  The  Tub  has  been  as  still  as  the  Pacific 
since  you  left.  Little  has  happened  to  the  Ascent. 
Edinburgh  has  been  unusually  absorbing.  I  have 
stitched  together  a  wee  book  on  Africa ;  written  a 
college  lecture  or  two ;  prepared  an  article  for  the 
Britannica;*  and  consumed  infinite  smoke.  C'est 
tout! 

There  was  the  usual  visit  to  Arran  with  his  students 
in  the  end  of  March,  and  assistance,  all  that  and  the 
next  month,  to  a  friend  who  was  standing  for  a  vacant 
constituency.  Concerning  certain  intrigues  in  regard 
to  which  he  is  tempted  to  say,  '  "  The  more  one  knows 
of  men,"  says  my  favourite  Artemus  Ward,  "  the  more 
one  thinks  of  dogs." ' 

On  the  Higher  Education  of  Women  he  writes :  — 

1  See  next  chapter.  *  On  the  Zambezi. 

2  For  Edinburgh  students. 


i888  299 

To  Lady  Aberdeen 

'  The  main  thing  surely  is  that  it  be  real,  and  not 
the  mere  accretion  of  further  "  accomplishments." 
I  dp  not  think  it  has  touched  this  ideal  yet,  cer- 
tainly not  in  the  case  of  men.  Wise  women,  bal- 
anced women,  are  what  are  needed,  not  accom- 
plished ornaments  —  or  bores.  Specifically,  then, 
they  should  be  educated  to  be  E.  women  and  not 
second-rate  E.  men.  Hence  (don't  laugh)  the  three 
things  they  should  know  from  the  foundation  to 
the  top  before  they  put  on  any  stucco  are :  (Mind) 
Education  t?N\a.\.1  Why?  How?);  (Body)/^«- 
ology  and  Ethics ;  Psychology  and  (Soul)  Theol- 
ogy, or  Theology  alone.  Apart  from  the  obvious 
reason,  and  the  importance  of  it,  in  these  days 
when  even  our  novels  are  theological,  or  sham- 
theological,  women  should  know  their  way  about 
here.  Then  your  Political  Economy  would  come 
in,  etc.,  etc.' 

In  May  Drummond  received  a  remarkable  requisi- 
tion to  deliver  another  series  of  religious  addresses  at 
Grosvenor  House  during  the  London  season.  It  was 
signed  with  the  following  names:  Aberdeen,  Arthur 
James  Balfour,  W.  St.  John  Brodrick,  George  N. 
Curzon,  R.  Munro  Ferguson,  Alfred  Lyttelton,  W.  S. 
Murray  (of  the  Grenadier  Guards),  George  W.  Russell, 
John  Sinclair,  and  J.  E.  C.  Welldon.  To  Captain 
Sinclair,  who  acted  as  secretary,  Drummond  replied  :  — 

'GLASGOW,  May  5,  1888. 

1 1  feel  very  unequal  to  this  piece  of  work,  but  after 
the  most  serious  consideration  I  feel  bound  to 
face  it.  The  kind  interest  of  yourself  and  of  your 
fellow-conspirators  in  the  matter  is  of  itself  almost 


3OO  HENRY  DRUMMOND 

enough  to  determine  my  decision ;  and  on  all 
grounds  I  am  persuaded  I  ought  at  least  to  make 
the  attempt. 

'  With  reference  to  the  points  you  raise  let  me 
say:  — 

4 1.  That  I  am  strongly  of  opinion  that  only 
three  addresses,  and  on  the  Sundays  you  name, 
should  be  announced.  When  a  long  series  is  in- 
timated, men  imagine  they  can  go  at  any  time ; 
and  a  main  object  should  be  to  keep  the  first  day's 
audience  through  the  course  rather  than  to  have 
new  men  coming  in  at  the  end.  An  isolated  ad- 
dress is  almost  useless.  If  it  turned  out  to  be 
advisable  to  have  a  fourth,  it  could  be  intimated 
at  the  third  meeting  without  the  necessity  of 
issuing  fresh  tickets.  But  on  all  grounds,  I  think 
we  should  wait  developments  before  announcing 
more  than  three. 

'  2.  I  am  quite  at  a  loss  for  the  title  of  my  sub- 
ject. Robert  Elsmere  is  a  good  suggestion,  but 
would  scarcely  give  scope  for  what  one  would 
really  like  to  say,  and  would  give  rather  a  polemi- 
cal or  apologetic  cast  to  the  address.  Would  it 
not  do  to  name  no  subject?  None  was  an- 
nounced last  time.  With  this  precedent,  and  the 
fact  that  the  addresses  are  on  Sunday,  the  sug- 
gestion of  a  religious  subject  might  perhaps  be 
strong  enough  without  a  direct  statement.  I  fear 
no  title  would  quite  cover  the  ground  one  would 
like  to  go  over. 

'  3.  As  the  limitation  to  Men  only  might  create 
an  impression  that  the  subject  necessitated  this, 
and  was  of  a  private  character,  would  it  not  be 
well  to  put  a  footnote  on  the  card  in  small  type 
to  some  such  effect  as  this :  — 


1 8  88  301 

' "  The  limitation  strictly  to  men  is  necessitated  by 

the  accommodation." 
'  I  hope  these  suggestions  will  not  be  out  of  keeping 

with  your  own  views.' 

In  accordance  with  this,  a  circular  was  drawn  up 
and  signed  by  the  requisitionists,  intimating  meetings 
for  men  only,  on  Sundays,  3d,  loth,  and  lyth  June,  at 
4  P.M.  '  The  great  square  room  was  densely  crowded 
by  an  interested  and  representative  gathering  —  poli- 
ticians, clergymen,  authors,  artists,  critics,  soldiers,  and 
barristers,  with  a  large  sprinkling  of  smart  young  men, 
whose  appearance  would  scarcely  have  suggested  a 
vivid  interest  in  serious  concerns.'1  The  addresses 
(I  do  not  know  in  what  order)  were  on  '  Evolution 
and  Christianity,'  '  Natural  Selection  in  Reference  to 
Christianity,'  and  the  *  Programme  of  Christianity.' 
After  distinguishing  between  religion  and  theology 
and  emphasising  Christianity  as  life,  Professor  Drum- 
mond  said  that  the  truth  of  Christianity  is  manifest  in 
the  fact  that  there  is  no  real  civilisation  without  it, 
and  that  the  purer  the  form  of  Christianity,  the  greater 
the  development  of  civilisation.  '  Show  me,'  he  said 
with  Matthew  Arnold,  '  ten  square  miles  outside  of 
Christianity  where  the  life  of  man  or  the  virtue  of 
woman  is  safe,  and  I'll  throw  over  Christianity  at 
once.'  He  defined  its  place  in  the  evolution  of  the 
universe  and  of  man  as  the  crown  and  consummation 
of  the  process.  He  showed  its  adaptability  to  the  most 
pressing  requirements  of  the  individual  and  of  society, 
accounted  for  its  apparent  failure  to  accomplish  its 
mission  by  the  unfaithfulness  of  Christians  to  their 
own  ideal,  and  compared  the  efficacy  of  Christ's  Gos- 
pel in  ministering  to  such  common  ills  as  poverty, 

1  Pall  Mall  Gazette,  June  lith. 


3O2  HENRY   DRUMMOND 

distress,  melancholy,  and  bad  habits,  with  that  of 
Socialism,  Political  Economy,  and  Natural  Morality. 
The  address  upon  '  Natural  Selection  in  Reference  to 
Christianity '  applied  the  latter  to  the  individual.  They 
were  often  told,  he  said,  that  so  far  from  religion  being 
a  question  of  the  survival  of  the  fittest,  it  was  the  very 
opposite ;  that  nature  and  religion  here  parted  com- 
pany ;  that  while  in  nature  the  race  was  to  the  swift 
and  the  weak  went  to  the  wall,  in  religion  the  weak 
and  heavy-laden  were  helped  and  the  bruised  reed  was 
not  broken.  Yet,  he  thought,  the  same  law  held  good 
for  both.  Illustrating  the  meaning  of  the  term  '  sur- 
vival of  the  fittest '  by  the  case  of  the  tadpole,  which 
when  the  pond  dies  and  myriads  of  other  organisms 
die,  yet  survives  and  develops  into  another  creature, 
because  it  is  surrounded  with  a  mysterious  apparatus 
which  enables  it  to  effect  that  transformation  under 
different  vital  conditions,  Professor  Drummond  said 
that  when  they  came  to  religion  they  found  exactly 
the  same  state  of  matters.  ...  At  the  dissolution  of 
their  bodies 'those  who  had  here,  in  their  being,  some- 
where, an  apparatus  for  living  in  an  unseen  environ- 
ment would  survive,  and  they  would  survive  because 
they  were  fit,  and  not  because  they  were  worthy  of 
eternal  life.  .  .  .  They  were  told  by  many  that  all  men 
at  last  would  have  eternal  life,  that  God  was  good,  and 
that  it  was  out  of  the  question  to  conceive  that  any 
should  not  survive.  He  knew  nothing  about  the 
survival  or  non-survival  of  those  who  had  not  the 
special  apparatus  for  developing;  but  they  had  little 
reason  to  believe  that  if  a  man  had  not  developed  in 
him  the  faculties  for  communicating  with  the  spiritual 
world,  he  would  have  that  kind  of  life  at  least,  what- 
ever his  immortality  might  be.  He  that  hath  not  the 
Son  hath  not  life.  God  had  invited  every  man  and 


i888  303 

woman  to  come  to  Him  that  they  might  have  life ;  and 
if  they  resisted  that  invitation,  they  could  not  fall  back 
upon  generalities  about  God's  goodness.  And  instead 
of  it  being  more  likely  for  a  man  to  get  these  faculties 
after  death,  he  was  afraid  it  looked  as  if  the  chance 
diminished  every  year  of  his  life.  They  were  told  by 
many  that  the  future  was  so  vague  they  should  just 
take  their  chance.  There  was  no  such  thing  as  chance. 
It  was  a  question  of  the  survival  of  the  fittest,  and 
unless  a  man  was  fit  he  had  not  the  ghost  of  a  chance. 
This  was  not  an  arbitrary  enactment  on  God's  part. 
It  was  natural  law:  a  natural  selection,  a  selection 
of  those  who  had  become  fit,  done  by  nature,  not 
by  God.  As  to  what  constituted  fitness,  they  were 
told  in  the  Bible  that  without  holiness  no  man  shall 
see  the  Lord.  .  .  .  They  were  also  told  in  the  Bible 
that  if  a  man  loves  the  world,  the  love  of  the  Father 
is  not  in  him.  The  man  who  loved  the  world  was  by 
that  incapacitated  from  loving  God.  It  was  a  question 
of  taste,  and  religion  was  the  education  of  the  taste  in 
that  particular.  The  Christian  was  not  to  go  out  of  the 
world,  but  he  was  not  to  love  it.  ...  Again  they  were 
told,  If  any  man  have  not  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  he  is 
none  of  His.  Only  those  who  were  unworldly  could 
live  in  that  society.  A  man  to  get  into  heaven,  which 
was  simply  a  select  family,  must  have  the  family 
interest  at  heart.  .  .  .  These  three  things  constituted 
fitness,  and  it  was  impossible  to  survive  without  them. 
Could  they  tell  whether  they  were  fit  to  survive  or  not? 
Must  they  wait  until  the  judgment  day,  or  was  there 
to  be  a  judgment  day  at  all  ?  He  did  not  think  there 
would  be  any  bar,  or  any  trumpet,  or  the  machinery 
of  a  human  event.  These  would  be  unnecessary, 
because  a  man  would  know  whether  he  was  fit  to 
live  in  that  world  the  moment  he  was  brought  into 


304  HENRY  DRUMMOND 

contact  with  it.  The  moment  a  man  submitted  his 
soul  to  God's  friends,  he  would  see  at  a  glance  instinc- 
tively whether  he  was  fit  to  live  in  that  company  or 
not.  The  moment  he  came  into  contact  with  Christ 
—  there  was  the  judgment.  Those  he  was  addressing 
could  know  at  that  moment  whether  they  were  fit  to 
survive.  It  was  not  religiousness  nor  good  works 
that  constituted  fitness.  It  was  the  possession  of  the 
mind  of  Christ,  unworldliness,  holiness.  They  who 
had  these  would  survive.  That  was  eternal  life.  It 
was  a  beautiful  life,  it  was  the  life  they  would  like 
to  have  eternal,  the  only  life  worth  being  eternal. 
They  could  see  at  once  that  the  law  of  natural  selec- 
tion was  a  law  which  would  keep  heaven  pure.  Its 
object  was  to  produce  fitness  —  not  to  keep  some  out, 
but  to  make  clear  that  those  who  got  in  should  be 
worthy  of  it,  pure,  heavenly  minded,  unworldly.  All 
men  could  be  eligible  if  they  would  get  into  the  envi- 
ronment suitable  to  the  development  of  this  fitness. 
To  do  that,  they  must,  in  the  first  place,  turn  their 
backs  upon  the  old  environment,  upon  the  world ;  and, 
secondly,  they  must  live  in  the  new  environment,  or, 
in  Scriptural  language,  Abide  in  Christ,  and  that  envi- 
ronment would  in  itself  produce  these  changes.  There 
was  an  undeveloped  bud  in  every  one,  and  they  had 
only  to  abide  in  Christ,  and  it  would  grow  into  beauty 
and  send  its  fragrance  upon  all  around.  A  brief 
prayer  followed  the  address.1 

The  usual  letters,  appeals,  interviews,  ensued  upon 
these  addresses ;  and  years  after  they  were  given, 
thoughts,  questions,  resolutions,  and  decisions  of  char- 
acter which  they  had  stirred  came  back  to  Drummond 
for  sympathy  and  counsel  —  often  from  lonely  men 
and  women  working  on  the  far  fringes  of  that  world- 

1  From  a  newspaper  report. 


i888  305 

wide  Empire  to  the  whole  of  which  you  speak  if  you 
speak  in  London. 

Besides  the  meetings  for  men  at  Grosvenor  House, 
Drummond  addressed  a  large  meeting  of  young  women 
of  the  West  End  of  London  in  the  residence  of  the 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Commons.  This  meeting 
was  held  in  pursuance  of  the  aims  of  the  Associated 
Workers'  League  started  in  1885 ;  and  a  separate  club 
was  formed  from  among  those  present  for  the  purpose 
of  informing  and  guiding  them  in  all  the  usual  work 
to  which  they  had  given  themselves.  The  '  88  Club ' 
(as  it  was  called)  was  to  consist  '  of  working  members 
who  will  each  undertake  some  definite  work,  however 
small,  undertaking  to  help  each  other  when  so  called 
upon,  to  remember  each  other  at  some  set  time,  and 
to  send  in  to  the  Secretary  quarterly  reports  of  their 
work.'  A  letter  from  the  President  'rejoices  that  every 
one  who  has  joined  the  "  88  "  has  in  some  way  or  other 
definitely  recognised  the  obligation  under  which  we 
are  placed  as  human  beings  to  make  life  better  worth 
living  to  others.  The  raison  cTetre  of  the  Club  is  not 
to  impose  any  fresh  duty  upon  us,  but  the  Club  was 
intended  to  act  as  a  constant  help  and  reminder  that 
we  are  already  bound,  in  some  way  or  other,  to  make 
service  for  others  the  aim  of  our  lives.  We  recognise 
to  the  full  the  paramount  claim  of  home-duties.'  The 
motto  of  the  Club  was  '  Prasto  et  Persto ' :  '  I  under- 
take and  persevere.'  In  1889  the  Club  started  a 
magazine  to  give  descriptions  of  philanthropic  activity, 
and  especially  of  such  as  are  suitable  for  young  women 
of  the  wealthier  classes  who  live  in  the  country,  reports 
of  the  members'  work,  and  notices  of  books  relevant  to 
the  aims  of  the  Club.  A  volume,  from  December, 
1 889,  to  September,  1 892,  contains  articles  on '  Women's 
Work  in  Large  Cities,' '  Friendly  Societies  for  Women,' 


306  HENRY   DRUMMOND 

'  Women's  Work  and  Wages,'  '  Women's  Settlements 
in  London,'  '  Clubs  for  Girls,'  '  The  Higher  Education 
of  Women,'  '  Country  Neighbours,'  '  Village  Choirs,' 
'  Needlework  Guilds  for  the  Country,'  '  Suggestions 
how  to  help  Servants,'  '  An  Experimental  Household 
Club,'  '  Workhouse  Suggestions,'  '  Bee-keeping,'  '  Chil- 
dren's Country  Holiday'  —  and  so  forth. 

'LocHMORE  LODGE,  LAIRG,  July  3. 

*  Arrived  here  one  hour  ago  after  a  charming  drive. 
The  place  is  buried  in  mountains,  and  London 
already  seems  a  million  miles  away.  There  has 
been  no  rain,  and  till  it  comes  I  must  simply 
smoke  and  dream,  for  there  is  not  a  solitary  fin 
in  the  loch.' 

'July  9. 

'  The  change  from  London  has  been  delightful.  I 
have  had  four  days'  absolute  peace  and  indolence. 
Yesterday  I  had  a  service  at  twelve  in  the  ser- 
vants' hall,  to  which  keepers,  foresters,  and  their 
wives  trooped  in  for  miles  and  miles,  and  I  liked 
the  thing  much  better  than  Grosvenor  House. 

The has  been  spreading  its  poison  in  the 

Highlands,  and  one  or  two  would  not  contami- 
nate themselves  by  coming  out  to  hear  so  awful  a 
monster.  (This  is  quite  true.)  London  ended 
better  than  it  began.  The  ladies'  meeting  went 
off,  I  think,  fairly  well,  and  Harrow  was  of  some 
use  also,  I  hope.' 

In  the  middle  of  August  Drummond  started  for  a 
tour  in  Switzerland  with  his  mother  and  sisters. 

'  SONNENBERG  HOTEL,  ENGELBERG,  Aug.  IQ. 

4 1  am  lost  in  wonder  all  day  long.  Switzerland  is 
the  one  place  in  the  world  which  is  never  false  to 


i888  307 

old  impressions,  which  never  betrays  one  by  a 
shadow  of  disappointment,  but  grows  in  grandeur 
with  all  one's  faculties.  I  find  this  truer  than 
ever  this  year,  and  I  suppose  this  is  my  eighth 
or  ninth  time  in  it.' 

He  took  his  mother  and  sisters  by  Engsteln  Alp, 
the  Grimsel,  Fiesch,  and  over  the  Simplon  to  the 
Italian  lakes,  where  he  left  them  and  returned  to 
meet  Lord  Aberdeen  at  Lucerne. 

To  Lady  Aberdeen 

1  LUCERNE,  Sept.  16. 

'  A  printed  notice  at  our  hotel  told  us  of  the  usual 
Free  Church  service  here  in  the  Maria  Hilf 
Kirche.  Mr. of to  preach  during  Sep- 
tember. When  we  got  there  we  found  a  congre- 
gation, mostly  American,  standing  outside  the 
locked  door.  The  hour  struck,  but  no  minister 
appeared,  and  not  even  a  beadle  was  about.  By 
and  by  A.  and  I  hunted  up  an  old  woman,  got 
the  keys,  requisitioned  two  Swiss  urchins  to  blow 
the  organ,  and  an  American  Miss  to  play  it,  and 
got  under  way  with  an  extemporised  sermon.  A. 
gave  out  the  hymns  and  precented  from  an  organ 
loft,  about  a  hundred  feet  above  the  floor,  and 
after  a  little  singing  I  read  a  chapter  and  dis- 
coursed, and  then  we  had  prayer  and  more  sing- 
ing and  —  no  collection.  The  hymn-books  had 
to  be  sent  for  to  "  The  Swan,"  and  no  one  knows 
why  the  parson  did  not  appear.  One  idea  is  that 
the  thing  closes  in  the  middle  of  September; 
another,  that  the  parson  had  fallen  down  a  cre- 
vasse. Anyhow,  I  mean  to  report  matters  to 
headquarters,  as  there  was  some  unparliamentary 


308  HENRY   DRUMMOND 

language  going,  and  the  Down  Grade  in  the  F.  C. 
must  not  be  allowed  to  descend  to  glaciers.     I 

hope  at  next  Assembly  will  introduce  an 

overture  that  henceforth  "all  continental  chap- 
lains shall  be  roped." ' 

'ANDERMATT,  Sept.  23. 

'  This  has  been  a  happy  Sabbath.  In  the  morning 
I  went  up  the  mountain  alone ;  then  spent  an 
hour  with  two  old  bauers  in  a  wee  Roman  Catho- 
lic Chapel.  Hymns  with  A.  and  Dr.  and  Mrs. 
in  the  afternoon  and  evening.' 

'VENICE,  Sept.  27. 

'  I  met  Browning 1  to-day  and  had  a  chat,  also  the 
Queen  of  Portugal  —  and  had  no  chat.' 

(  MONTE  GENEROSO,  Oct.  4,  1888. 

'  I  left  A.  at  Zermatt  and  ran  off  to  Venice  to  my 
mother  and  sisters.  We  wandered  up  and  down 
with  Ruskin's  Stones  of  Venice  in  our  hands  till 
it  was  too  dark  to  read.  I  never  felt  more  be- 
holden to  any  author  than  to  Ruskin  during  these 
days.  It  was  to  me  a  revelation.  I  must  go 
back. 

'  I  met  Browning  on  the  street  one  day  and  had  a 
memorable  chat  with  him.  He  said  this  was  his 
ninth  visit  to  Venice,  and  he  always  found  out 
new  things. 

'  The  Italian  Bible  I  sent  you  is  selling  in  every 
kiosk,  and  by  the  ten  thousand.  Issued  simply 
as  classical  literature  by  an  irreligious  man,  it  is 
being  read  on  every  hand. 

'  I  am  now  back  again  with  A.,  and  will  stay  quietly 
reading  and  dreaming  till  the  loth  or  i2th.' 

1  H.  D.  had  met  Browning  at  Dollis  Hill  in  June,  1885.  '  I  had  a  walk  with 
him.  He  is  quite  unlike  a  poet,  and  talks  plain  prose.  To  meet  him  you  would 
think  he  was  an  elderly  but  well-preserved  and  smart  French  banker.' 


1888-1889 

The  winter  of  1888-89  passed  in  the  usual  labours 
—  college  lectures,  new  addresses  for  Edinburgh,  and 
endless  meetings  of  philanthropic  societies.  He  was 
kept  very  busy,  and  claim  after  claim  upon  him  had  to 
be  refused  in  the  interests  of  his  work  for  the  students. 
In  February  he  wrote :  — 

'  I  shall  need  my  Saturday  night  to  myself,  that  is, 
to  the  students.  I  have  not  had  a  moment  this 

week.     There  are  always  heaps  of  people  for , 

and  I  am  sure  they  do  not  need  me  so  much  as  I 
need  myself  on  Saturday.  Try  to  see  it  in  this 
way.' 

Part  of  his  work  this  year  was  the  founding  of  a 
University  Settlement  in  Glasgow.  His  intense  in- 
terest at  this  time  in  such  work  is  proof  of  how  far 
he  had  advanced  in  his  conception  of  Christianity  since 
the  early  days,  when  the  social  side  of  religion  had 
few  charms  for  him. 

'  March  27. 

'  I  am  busy  with  the  University  men  here,  planning 
a  Settlement  in  a  poor  district.  The  leader  is  an 
Established  Church  student,  the  second  a  med- 
ical, the  third  an  Arts  man  coming  on  for  the 
Free  Church  College.  Plans  are  out,  and  the 
thing  will  be  built  by  the  beginning  of  next  ses- 
sion. Thirty  men  are  already  at  work  in  the  dis- 
trict, and  there  will  be  fifteen  residents.  Is  not 
this  good  ?  It  will  be  on  earnest  evangelical 
lines,  and  ought  to  be  a  great  blessing  to  the 
University.  The  first  formal  meeting  of  workers 
takes  place  in  my  house  next  Tuesday  night.' 

In  the  beginning  of  April  Dr.  Smeaton,  Professor 
of  New  Testament  Exegesis  in  New  College,  Edin- 


3IO  HENRY  DRUMMOND 

burgh,  died,  and  Drummond  threw  himself  with  ardour 
into  the  work  of  securing  the  election  of  Dr.  Dods  to 
the  vacant  chair. 

To  Lady  Aberdeen 

'April  25,  1889. 

*  I  have  great  hope.  The  younger  men  are  rallying 
finely,  and  the  issue  is  now  seen  to  be,  not  the 
personal  one,  but  the  large  question  of  Liberalism 
versus  Toryism.  I  have  long  wanted  a  test  vote 
on  that  point,  as  Scotland  has  changed  much  even 
since  Robertson  Smith  was  put  out.  His  critics 
have  been  watching  a  chance  to  get  at  Dods  for 
his  Pan-Council  Speech,  and  this  will  be  made 
the  occasion  of  it.  The  row  will  be  very  serious, 
and  many  good  people  must  pass  through  tribu- 
lation— the  price  of  progress.' 

June  10. 

'  I  hope  you  recognise  the  handwriting.  I  believe 
the  writer  has  been  in  his  Tub  for  some  weeks. 
The  scenery  there  is  at  times  monotonous,  so  the 
poor  wretch  has  seldom  anything  to  write  about. 
These  are  placid  days,  and  no  earthquakes. 

1  One came  upon  me  like  a  meteor  on  Friday, 

and  on  Saturday  went  off  again  into  Space.  His 
talk  was  of  fish,  flies,  and  lochs,  and  at  times  in- 
coherent, so  I  know  not  whither  he  has  gone. 
He  used  much  guile  to  allure  me  from  these 
shades,  but  wild-horses  could  not  draw  me  at 
this  moment.  Towards  the  end  of  the  month 
this  pelican  of  the  wilderness  and  owl  of  the 
desert  plumeth  his  wings  for  Stack.' 


311 

To  a  Friend 

'GLASGOW,  July  19. 

'  All  good  wishes  go  with  this  for  the  2Oth.  Surely 
your  cup  can  never  be  much  fuller  than  it  is  this 
July.  The  sentries  cry  "  All  Well  "  from  every 
outpost,  and  only  the  one  ubiquitous  and  never- 
sleeping  enemy  within  lives  to  be  reckoned  with. 
What  can  I  wish  for  you  better,  and  for  all  of  us, 
than  that  he  shall  have  less  and  less  dominion 
over  us?  With  your  thorn  in  the  flesh  the  fight 
is  hard,  but  when  the  smoke  clears  we  shall 
wonder  at  the  legions  that  were  slain,  and  when 
we  almost  thought  the  battle  had  turned  against 
us.  Every  bullet  has  its  billet.  That  is  one 
thing  sure.  The  moral  is  "  Charge ! " 

'  GLASGOW,  July  24. 

'  I  went  up  to  Stack,  looked  at  it,  then  at  the  rain- 
less sky,  and  said  to  the  coachman,  "  Drive  on." 
It  was  absolutely  hopeless.  At  present  I  am  a 
close  prisoner,  trying  to  work,  but  making  almost 
nothing  of  it.  I  hope  your  busy  life  pays  you 
better.' 

'CUILFAIL  HOTEL,  KILMELFORD,  ARGYLLSHIRE,  Aug.  i. 

'  Interruptions  to  my  work  have  been  incessant  all 

summer,  and  I  have  run  off  here  to  try  to  get 

some  necessary  things  done  before  the  Bonskeid 

gathering  stops  my  work  at  the  end  of  the  month. 

You  have  heard rave  about  Loch  Melford? 

That  is  where  I  am.  This  hotel  is  at  the  head 
of  the  loch,  twenty-five  miles'  drive  from  Ardris- 
haig,  fairly  lovely,  very  healthy,  and  lonely  enough. 
There  are  several  people  at  the  hotel,  but  I  have 
scarcely  spoken  to  a  soul  for  some  days,  and  am 
deep  in  a  hamper  of  books.' 


312  HENRY   DRUMMOND 

<  Aug.  14. 

'  I  am  inextricably  fixed  here  with  a  heavy  pro- 
gramme to  get  through  and  a  warning  sent  to 
all  my  friends  that  I  am  not  going  to  be  visible, 
audible,  or  accessible  for  the  whole  of  August. 

'  I  go  to  the  Tub  to-morrow,  as  my  books  of  refer- 
ence are  exhausted,  also  the  weather,  and  the 
hotel  has  become  a  shooting-lodge,  and  a  bedlam 
of  dogs  has  broken  loose.' 

'  BONSKEID,  Sept.  3. 

'  A  thousand  thanks  for  your  letter.  How  well  do 
I  know  the  experience  you  describe  —  the  evapo- 
ration of  a  great  and  moving  thought  when  one 
tries  to  expose  it  to  the  public  air !  "  Hast  thou 
Faith  ?  Have  it  to  thyself"  the  Bible  somewhere 
says.' 

'  BONSKEID  (no  date) . 

*  I  must  still  be  vague  and  say,  "  About  the  last 
week."  There  ought  to  be  margins  left  round 
all  lines  where  it  is  possible.  We  sometimes  tie 
up  Providence  as  well  as  ourselves.' 

After  Bonskeid  he  spent  a  fortnight  deerstalking 
and  fishing  at  Guisachan  and  Haddo,  then  came  back 
to  Glasgow  for  work,  and  before  the  session  began 
went  to  Haddo  and  Rossie  Priory  for  certain  meetings 
and  services. 

'Oct.  5. 

'  D has  been  saying  very  straight  things  lately, 

and  this  crooked  and  perverse  generation  is  doing 
its  best  to  drive  him  from  the  synagogue.  He 
does  not  like  it,  and  is  in  very  low  water,  but  one 
dare  not  wish  him  rescued.' 


1884*1890 

'Nov.  12. 

' P.T.O.  and  you  will  find  something  worth  reading. 
I  shall  not  spoil  it  by  adding  more  at  present.  I 
pray  all  goes  well.  —  Yours  ever,  H.  D.' 

'"Holiness  is  an  infinite  compassion  for  others: 
Greatness  is  to  take  the  common  things  of  life 
and  walk  truly  among  them :  Happiness  is  a 
great  love  and  much  serving." ' 

'Nov.  1 6. 

'  I  am  glad  you  are  getting  among  your  books. 
With  shame  I  confess  I  have  never  read  Stanley's 
Jewish  Church.  Long  it  has  been  on  my  List. 
I  have  just  been  glancing  at  George  Eliot's  Jubal 
and  Stradivarius.  ...  I  see  no  new  books  worth 
sending.  I  wonder  if  you  feel,  as  I  do,  an  un- 
healthy liking  for  new  books.  I  have  continually 
to  pull  myself  up  and  go  back  to  old  and  dusty 
friends  —  to  find  them  after  all  the  best. 

'  I  hope  you  did  not  have  it  out  with .  How 

well  I  know  the  torture  of  suppression !  "  Many 
things"  had  He  also  which  He  could  not  tell  His 
disciples.' 

'  Nov.  20. 

'Your  letter  this  morning  is  delightful.  I  am  so 
glad  you  have  taken  the  veil.  There  is  no  life 
like  the  Tub  life.  How  calmly  one  regards  the 
passing  show,  now  laughing  at  it,  now  crying 
over  it,  now  rushing  in  for  a  day  to  help  some 
poor  wretch  falling  under  his  flag,  but  always 
coming  back  again  to  the  true  Ark !  I  suppose 
one  ought  to  join  the  procession  oftener,  z>.  me  : 
pour  vous,  you  have  trudged  till  you  are  tired, 
and  others  must  pull  your  caravan  a  bit.  You 


314  HENRY   DRUMMOND 

see  poor  Elmslie 1  has  fallen  at  his  post.  You  did 
not  know  him  or  see  him,  the  real  Elmslie.  But 
this  is  a  real  shock  to  me.  He  was  one  of  the 
brightest  and  most  living  spirits  of  this  age,  one 
of  the  best  equipped  men  for  the  future  struggle ; 
a  hundred  of  us  ought  to  have  gone  before  him. 

*  I  see  that  your  thoughts  still  go  out  to  the  "  new 

theology,"  and  I  am  going  to  send  you  a  few 
books  in  that  line  to  glance  over.  You  will 
doubtless  already  have  discovered  the  points  in 
Jubal  and  Stradivarius' 

'  Bellamy  I  never  heard  of.  Mackintosh  I  know  as 
an  acquaintance  of  some  years'  standing.  He 
studied  for  the  Free  Church,  but  stuck  at  the 
Confession,  and  will  not  be  ordained.  He  lives 
to  expound  the  new  theology.  He  is  one  of  the 
acutest  minds  in  the  country,  a  thorough  scholar, 
and  has  already  written  one  book  (Christ  and  the 
Jewish  Law)  and  two  pamphlets  (one  on  the 
Confession,  the  other  an  attack  on  Revivalism). 
These  pamphlets  are  too  fierce.  But  his  book  is 
admirable.  The  new  book 2  I  have  only  glanced 
at.  It  is  sure  to  be  good.  I  shall  send  you  a 
new  book  of  Dr.  Bruce's,  which  you  will  get  much 

from.' 

'  GLASGOW,  Nov.  28. 

*  To-night  I  preside  at  the  opening  of  our  Univer- 

sity Settlement  here.' 

'Jan.  2,  1890. 

'  This  is  a  delightful  sketch  of  yours,  and  really 
important.  If  you  ask  my  honest  opinion,  I 
shall  give  it  on  all  the  points  you  ask,  but  please 

1  Professor  W.  G.  Elmslie,  died  Nov.  16,  1889,  atat  forty-two. 

2  Essays  towards  a  New  Theology. 


1889-1890  3*5 

notice  the  above  first  sentence,  and  take  what 
follows  for  what  it  is  worth.  .  .  .  Last.  The 
style  is  not  good !  Indeed,  it  is  bad ;  once  or 
twice  very  bad.  Sentences  are  overloaded ;  and 
though  words  are  always  well  chosen,  no  work 
has  been  spent  in  improving  it.  You  never  do 
spend  enough  work  on  that  department,  and  how 
can  you  when  you  are  so  busy?  But  please, 
Mr,  Editor,  you  must  try.  Pass  the  roller  slowly 
over  your  work.  Now  I  have  said  it,  and  of 

course  feel  a  fiend  for  doing  it.     Tell not  to 

bring  a  horse-whip  next  time  we  meet.  You  can 
do  it,  i.e.  write  better,  if  you  will  only  keep  the 
simple  rule  of  the  Umbrian  and  ''fence  in  the 
morning  hours."  A  Nineteenth  Century  article 
should  be  written  at  least  three  times  —  once  in 
simplicity,  once  in  profundity,  and  once  to  make 
the  profundity  appear  simplicity. 

*This  letter,  being  official,  shall  contain  no  more. 
Other  matters  will  follow  to-morrow.  —  Yours 
mercilessly, 

'  EXCELSIOR. 

4  What  a  horrid  letter !  * 

'GLASGOW,  Jan.  u,  1890. 

*  Dresden  ?  Freut  mich  sehr  to  hear  you  speak  of 
it.  I  did  not  think  you  would  bridge  across  the 
Channel  for  all  the  doctors  in  the  kingdom.  I 
wish  I  could  make  it  more  tempting,  but,  do  you 
know,  I  have  never  even  been  in  Dresden.  I  am 
waiting  for  that  German  governess,  who  will  help 
me  to  understand  the  pictures.  But  all  I  have 
heard  of  it  is  good,  and  you  will  get  what  you 
need  most  just  now  —  art,  both  music  and  paint- 
ing, to  your  heart's  content.  To  make  it  an 
epoch  you  must  read  up  the  Masters  a  bit  be- 


31 6  HENRY  DRUMMOND 

tween  this  and  then.  How  I  wish  I  could  do 
that !  I  believe  a  fortnight's  reading  is  enough 
to  make  one  a  cracked  enthusiast  for  life.  But, 
like  Darwin,  most  of  us  (not  you)  live  dead  to 
it  all.' 

'Jan.  17. 

'  At  Christmas-time  I  tried  everywhere,  both  in 
Edinburgh  and  Glasgow,  for  a  bound  copy  of 
Greatest  Thing,  but  it  was  nowhere  to  be  found, 
and  no  copies  are  yet  forthcoming.  On  New 
Year's  Day  I  ordered  the  fifty  thousand  from  the 
printers,  but  the  binders  cannot  get  the  bound  one 
touched  until  orders  for  the  other  one  are  executed. 
However,  I  hope  it  will  come  in  a  day  or  two,  and  I 
shall  then  obey  your  behest,  though  much  against 

the  grain.     Of  course  I  did  not  send one, 

and  I  absolutely  refuse  to  send  "  tracts  "  to  him.' 

This  letter  touches  on  a  curious  habit  of  Drum- 
mond's.  He  did  not  do  his  publishing  like  other 
authors.  He  chose  paper,  type,  and  binding,  and  dealt 
with  the  printers  himself.  It  was  a  needless  trouble, 
but  he  said  he  enjoyed  '  the  sport '  of  it. 

'Jan.  21. 

4 1  am  all  but  talked  to  death  these  days.  One 
meeting,  Sunday;  two,  Monday;  two,  Tuesday; 
one  to-day,  and  so  on.' 

During  the  previous  autumn  invitations  had  reached 
Drummond  from  the  Australian  colleges  to  come  and 
tell  them  of  the  Edinburgh  Student  Movement  and  do 
what  he  had  done  in  America.  He  had  refused  to  go 
to  Australia  the  year  before,  but  now  he  agreed. 

'Feb.  28. 

'  I  wish  I  knew  better  what  Australia  would  be,  and 
how  the  work  will  open  and  develop.  I  must  do 


i 8 qo  317 

that  thoroughly,  for  it  is  once  in  a  lifetime,  and  I 
shall  "  not  pass  this  way  again  "  in  all  probability. 
And  since  I  saw  you  I  have  had  an  urgent  appeal 
from  Japan  to  go  to  Tokio  University  for  a  little 
on  my  way  back.  The  University  opens  there 
late  in  autumn.' 

'  March  6. 

'  I  should  much  like  to  meet  George  Macdonald. 
He  has  been  a  real  teacher  to  many.  I  am  taking 
Robert  Falconer  to  read  on  the  voyage.  My  piece 
de  resistance,  however,  will  be  Browning.  I  am 
taking  him  complete,  and  mean  to  go  through 
with  him  thoroughly.  None  can  approach  him 
for  insight  into  life,  or  even  into  Christianity. 

'  Imperial  Federation  begins  to  dawn  upon  me. 
Perhaps  you  shall  hear  of  me  lecturing  upon  it ! 
I  have  a  lecture  all  ready  on  the  "  Evolution  of 
Natives,"  and  two  pages  added  would  make  it  out 
and  out  Imperial-Federationesque.  The  idea  is 
great  and  worth  working  at.  But  as  I  have  to 
introduce  into  Australia  the  Boys'  Brigade,  the 
Home  Reading  Union,  and  other  modern  im- 
provements, I  fear  I  have  too  many  strings  to  my 
bow.' 

1 884-90.  —  These  seven  years  of  Drummond's  life, 
which  have  been  summarised  in  this  chapter,  were 
the  years  of  his  fame  and  greatest  activity  along  many 
lines.  Even  in  them  he  did  nothing  greater  than  his 
work  among  students.  We  have  already  marked  the 
signs  of  its  progress,  but  it  was  so  big  and  the  issues 
so  far-reaching  that  it  requires  a  chapter  to  itself.  To 
follow  the  movement  we  must  return  to  1884,  in  which 
year  it  started  in  Edinburgh. 


CHAPTER   XII 

THE   STUDENT   MOVEMENT,   1884-1894 

BESIDES  his  mission  to  young  men  under  Mr.  Moody, 
the  greatest  work  which  Henry  Drummond  achieved 
was  his  work  among  students.  Started  at  Edinburgh 
in  1884,  it  spread  to  many  other  colleges  of  Great 
Britain.  It  took  him  to  Germany,  to  America,  and 
to  Australia.  Up  to  the  very  end  it  remained  his 
chief  interest  and  burden.  He  reckoned  as  mere  dis- 
tractions from  it  not  only  the  most  honourable  of  calls 
to  positions  of  eminence  on  other  arenas  of  life,  but 
even  many  of  those  forms  of  work  in  which  he  had 
hitherto  achieved  success.  He  shut  himself  off  from 
the  pulpits  of  his  Church,  denied  his  friends,  turned 
from  the  public,  banished  reporters,  and  endured  in- 
finite misrepresentation,  if  only  he  might  make  sure 
of  the  students.  Had  one  asked  him  towards  the  end 
what  the  work  of  his  life  had  been,  he  would  certainly 
have  replied,  '  My  work  among  them.'  And  measured 
by  results,  almost  everything  he  did  seems  less;  for 
the  field  was  one  on  which  other  ministers  of  religion 

o 

had  many  failures,  and  he  conspicuously  succeeded. 
Hundreds  of  men  who  never  went  to  church  were 
won  for  Christ  at  his  meetings.  He  invented  methods 
that  are  now  employed  wherever  students  join  for 
religious  service.  He  preached  the  Gospel  of  Christ 
with  a  fulness  and  with  a  pertinacity  of  personal  appli- 
cation which  he  never  excelled  on  any  other  platform. 
And  so  he  influenced  thousands  of  lives,  which  are 

318 


jEr.  32-33]  THE  STUDENT  MOVEMENT  3 1 9 

now  at  work  among  many  nations,  in  all  those  pro- 
fessions of  governing  and  teaching  and  healing,  to 
which  the  University  is  the  necessary  introduction. 

As  for  all  great  religious  movements,  so  for  this, 
there  had  been  preparation  and  signs  beforehand.1 
In  April,  1884,  the  University  of  Edinburgh  cele- 
brated the  tercentenary  of  its  foundation.  Among  the 
many  meetings  was  one  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Students'  Representative  Council,  for  the  students 
themselves,  of  whom  there  were  eleven  or  twelve 
hundred  present.  The  Lord  Rector,  Sir  Stafford 
Northcote,  was  in  the  chair,  and  brief  addresses  were 
given  by  Mr.  Russell  Lowell,  then  American  Ambas- 
sador, Count  de  Lesseps,  Count  Saffi,  Professors  Pas- 
teur, Virchow,  von  Helmholtz,  and  de  Laveleye. 
Robert  Browning,  too,  said  a  few  words.  '  If  the 
speakers  had  merely  given  utterance  to  complimentary 
commonplaces,  such  an  assembly  could  not  have  been 
commonplace.  But  the  unexpected  thing  was  that 
from  the  deeply  spiritual  prayer  of  Principal  Rainy 
till  the  closing  benediction,  there  was  a  reverential 
tone,  and  throughout  the  addresses  there  sounded 
an  earnest  call  to  the  acknowledgment  of  God,  which 
rang  out  most  clearly  in  the  closing  word  of  the  last 
of  the  illustrious  orators,  Professor  de  Laveleye: 
"  Remember  the  profound  and  beautiful  words  of 
Jesus,  which  would  put  an  end  to  all  our  troubles  and 
all  our  discords  if  it  were  but  listened  to :  Seek  first 
the  kingdom  of  God  and  His  righteousness,  and  all 
other  things  will  be  added  unto  you?  ' 

Again,  at  the  beginning  of  the  following  session  in 
October,  Principal  Sir  Alexander  Grant,  in  his  open- 

1  The  following  paragraphs  owe  much  to  Professor  A.  R.  Simpson's  pamphlet 
The  Year  of  Grace  1885  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  published  by  the  Inter- 
University  Christian  Union,  93,  Aldersgate  Street,  London,  E.G. 


32O  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1884-85 

ing  address  —  the  last  he  was  to  deliver  —  'claimed 
for  his  University,  founded  by  the  Reformers,  that  it 
always  had  a  distinctively  Christian  character,'  and  he 
called  upon  the  students  to  '  recognise  and  sustain  this 
reputation.' 

In  November  the  Medical  Students'  Christian  Asso- 
ciation held  their  annual  meeting,  and  listened  to  more 
than  usually  helpful  addresses  from  Professor  Douglas 
Maclagan,  the  retiring  President,  and  his  successor, 
Dr.  Greenfield,  the  Professor  of  Pathology.  '  The 
Arts  Students'  Prayer  Meeting  also  set  out  with  much 
vigour,  aided  by  a  stimulating  address  from  Professor 
Calderwood.'  Outside  the  University  some  students 
and  resident  surgeons  at  the  infirmary  had  been  roused 
to  an  earnest  faith  by  the  work  of  Dr.  Moxey,  the 
Lecturer  on  Elocution  at  New  College. 

So  things  had  been  shaping,  when  on  the  loth 
December  Messrs.  Stanley  Smith  and  C.  T.  Studd,1 
the  two  Cambridge  graduates  who  had  given  them- 
selves to  the  work  of  the  China  Inland  Mission,  held 
in  Edinburgh  a  meeting  for  students.  Professor 
Charteris  was  in  the  chair,  and  had  around  him  several 
of  his  colleagues  from  the  different  faculties,  extra- 
mural lecturers  and  hospital  residents.  There  were 
seven  hundred  students  present,  and  the  addresses  were 
so  impressive  that  the  greater  proportion  remained  to 
a  second  meeting,  after  which  a  crowd  of  students 
singing  hymns  accompanied  the  two  young  evangelists 
to  the  railway  station.  In  January  Messrs.  Smith  and 
Studd  held  three  more  meetings  in  Edinburgh  under 
the  presidency  of  Professors  Charteris,  Butcher,  and 
Grainger  Stewart,  and  attended  by  increasing  num- 
bers of  students.  '  At  times  in  those  days  scenes  were 

1  Smith  had  been  stroke-oar  of  the  Cambridge  eight,  Studd  captain  of  the 
Cambridge  eleven. 


^ET.  32-33]  THE   STUDENT   MOVEMENT  321 

enacted  that  recalled  the  First  of  John,  and  young 
men  who  were  disposed  to  think  that  no  good  could 
come  out  of  the  meetings  were  induced  by  their  fellows 
to  come  and  see;  and  they  came  and  found  Jesus. 
Some  were  impressed  by  the  stirring  eloquence  of 
Mr.  Stanley  Smith's  appeals.  Others  were  attracted 
by  the  straightforward  narrative  of  Mr.  Studd's  expe- 
riences. All  were  fain  to  recognise  that  it  was  no 
unmanly  thing  to  become  a  Christian,  and  that  there 
was  some  magnetic,  mighty  influence  in  the  power 
of  a  life  wholly  given  to  the  service  of  the  world's 
Redeemer.' 

All  these  facts  it  is  necessary  to  give,  in  order  to 
show  how  disposed  to  religion  the  life  of  a  university 
is,  and  lest  any  might  think  that  to  start  a  great  move- 
ment on  such  a  stage  requires  the  advent  of  one 
commanding  personality. 

In  December  Drummond  had  made  his  first  appear- 
ance before  his  own  university  as  a  teacher  by  giving 
the  annual  lecture  of  its  Christian  Medical  Associa- 
tion. Professor  Geikie  was  in  the  chair;  there  was  a 
fair  number  of  students  present,  and  Drummond  re- 
delivered  his  inaugural  discourse  on  '  The  Contribution 
of  Science  to  Christianity.'  *  Whatever  his  audience 
had  previously  known,  or  not  known,  about  him,  they 
now  saw  before  them  a  religious  teacher  utterly  free 
from  conventionalism,  ardent  and  enthusiastic  as  any 
of  themselves,  fearless  of  facts,  loyal  to  the  intellectual 
methods  of  the  age,  but  still  with  an  unshaken  faith 
in  God  and  in  the  reality  of  spiritual  experience.  He 
was  immediately  urged  to  return  and  lead  the  move- 
ment which  had  just  started.  His  reply  was,  '  I  cannot 
address  students  in  cold  blood  ; '  and  besides  (as  appears 
from  his  letters),  he  was  sure  that  he  could  not  work 

1  Summarised  above  in  chap.  ix. 


322  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1885 

with  freedom  upon  all  the  methods  on  which  the  move- 
ment was  conducted.  The  difficulties,  however,  were 
removed,  and  he  engaged  to  give  one  address  on  the 
Sunday  evening  subsequent  to  Messrs.  Smith  and 
Studd's  last  meeting.  He  stipulated  that  it  should  be 
for  students  only,  and  upon  new  ground.  The  Odd- 
fellows' Hall  was  chosen,  the  nearest  that  could  be 
found  to  the  University  Buildings.  It  was  simply 
announced  that  '  Professor  Drummond  would  give  an 
address,'  and  an  audience  gathered  that  nearly  filled 
the  hall.1 

'It  is  difficult,'  says  one  who  was  present,  'to  describe  the 
impression  one  got  in  such  a  meeting.  We  have  seen  young 
men's  meetings  gathered  before  a  platform  crowded  with 
ministers  surrounding  a  world-renowned  evangelist.  But  this 
was  not  a  random  gathering  of  the  young  men  of  Edinburgh. 
There  were  youths  from  all  parts  of  Scotland.  There  were 
many  from  England  and  Wales.  India  had  some  of  her  dark 
sons  there.  Australia,  Canada,  the  Cape  and  all  our  colonies 
sent  their  contingents.  They  had  all  come  to  our  city  to 
study,  and  were  in  various  stages  of  their  curriculum.  Know- 
ledge had  been  for  them  the  principal  thing ;  and  they  found 
themselves,  somewhat  wonderingly,  in  a  scene  where  they 
might  haply  get  something  they  had  not  got  in  any  classroom. 
They  saw  the  platform  filled  with  their  teachers,  their  class- 
tutors,  and  some  of  their  own  number  whom  they  might  rec- 
ognise as  officials  of  one  or  other  of  the  Christian  Associations. 
When  they  had  sung  the  Hundredth  Psalm,  and  the  Professor 
occupying  the  chair  had  led  in  prayer,  and  read  a  portion  of 
Scripture,  they  sang  another  hymn.  Then  the  young  gentle- 
man at  the  chairman's  side,  who  was  a  stranger  still  to  many 
of  them,  came  forward  to  the  table,  and  the  confidence  at 
once  awakened  by  his  open,  earnest  look  at  them  was  con- 
firmed when  he  began  to  talk  to  them  in  the  well-known 
classroom  tone  of  a  lecturer  who  has  some  knowledge  which 
it  is  his  business  to  impart  to  his  auditors,  and  which  it  is  their 

1  It  holds  about  nine  hundred. 


J<ET.  33]  THE   STUDENT   MOVEMENT  323 

supreme  business  at  this  hour  to  acquire.  He  began  by  tell- 
ing, with  graphic  detail,  how  a  geologist  had  opened  a  mine 
in  search  of  a  silver  lode,  and  when  his  fortune  had  nearly 
melted  away,  said  to  his  people  that  for  a  few  weeks  longer 
they  might  dig,  and  if  they  found  no  silver  they  must  cease ; 
how  it  was  sold  to  one  more  fortunate,  whose  men  had  only 
dug  through  two  yards  of  soil  when  they  came  on  one  of  the 
richest  veins  of  silver  in  England.  "  Now,  I  believe,"  said 
the  lecturer,  "  that  there  are  some  men  in  this  hall  who  are 
not  two  yards  off  from  a  treasure  greater  than  can  be  found 
in  all  the  mines  of  earth."  And  then  he  proceeded  to  en- 
force on  them  the  command  of  Jesus,  Seek  ye  first  the  king- 
dom of  God  and  His  righteousness.  After  the  address  he 
prayed,  and  before  giving  out  a  closing  hymn  he  intimated  that 
an  after-meeting  would  be  held  for  personal  converse  with 
any  who  might  feel  that  they  could  get  further  help  from 
himself  or  any  other  believers  present.  No  urgent  appeal 
was  made ;  rather  they  were  told  that  probably  the  best  thing 
for  some  of  them  would  be  to  go  home  and  speak  with  none 
but  God.  Yet  the  after-meeting  was  large,  and  some  declared 
their  willingness  to  be  the  Lord's.' 

Drummond  would  not  commit  himself  to  a  series  of 
meetings.  Till  the  end  of  each  it  was  left  open  whether 
there  was  to  be  another.  With  one  break,  he  returned 
every  Sunday  evening  till  the  end  of  the  session. 

'  The  atmosphere  of  the  classroom  seemed  always  to  per- 
vade the  meetings,  and  at  a  telling  illustration,  or  apt  appeal, 
there  was  often  a  suppressed  sound  of  the  pleasure  with  which 
it  had  been  received.  It  must  have  been  at  one  of  the  early 
meetings,  when  he  had  for  text  the  grand  Gospel  invitation 
in  the  end  of  the  eleventh  of  Matthew,  that  Mr.  Drummond 
used  an  illustration  which  caught  their  attention  and  guided 
some  to  the  discipleship  of  Christ.  "  You  ask  what  it  is,  this 
coming  to  Christ.  Well,  what  does  Jesus  Himself  tell  you 
here  ?  He  says  '  Learn  of  Me.'  Now,  you  are  all  learners. 
You  have  come  to  Edinburgh,  some  of  you  from  the  ends  of 
the  earth,  to  learn.  And  how  did  you  put  yourself  in  the 
way  of  learning  what  is  here  taught  ?  You  went  to  the  Uni- 


324  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1885 

versity  office  and  wrote  your  name  in  a  book.  You  matricu- 
lated ;  and  becoming  a  University  student,  you  went  to  get 
from  each  individual  professor  what  he  had  to  teach.  So, 
with  definite  purpose  to  learn  of  Christ,  must  you  come  to 
Him  and  surrender  yourself  to  His  teaching  and  guidance." 
Sometimes  thereafter,  when  a  happy  worker  had  to  tell  of  a 
new  addition  to  the  number  of  Christ's  disciples,  he  would 
pleasantly  say  that  So-and-so  had  "  matriculated."  ' 

In  February  the  Indian  statesman,  Sir  William 
Muir,  was  appointed  Principal  of  Edinburgh  Univer- 
sity. On  the  day  after  his  inauguration,  he  attended 
one  of  the  meetings  in  the  Oddfellows'  Hall,  and  closed 
his  brief  address  by  pronouncing  upon  it  the  benedic- 
tion of  the  closing  verses  in  Numbers  vi.  '  You  will 
more  easily  imagine  than  I  can  describe  the  thrill  of 
emotion  that  ran  through  the  hall.  It  would  have 
sought  utterance  in  the  usual  applause,  but  for  the 
reverent  "  Hush-sh !  "  of  the  majority,  and  was  finally 
expressed  by  the  whole  mass  in  the  galleries  and  floor 
rising  up  and  sitting  quietly  down  again  when  the 
Principal  had  bowed  his  acknowledgment  of  their 
loving  reverence.' 

How  real  and  deep  Drummond  felt  the  work  to  be 
may  be  seen  from  his  letters,  which  we  have  already 
quoted.  Even  with  his  experience  of  such  movements 
he  was  taken  by  surprise.  'It  is  a  distinct  work  of 
God,'  he  writes;  'such  a  work  as  I,  after  considerable 
experience  of  evangelistic  work,  have  never  seen  be- 
fore.' '  It  haunts  me  like  a  nightmare.  The  respon- 
sibility I  feel  almost  more  than  anything  in  my  life.' 
'  I  do  not  think  I  would  exchange  that  audience  for 
anything  else  in  the  world.' 

The  work  in  Edinburgh  required  Drummond's  pres- 
ence every  Sunday,  and  he  refused  invitations  to  visit 
other  universities ;  but  these  of  themselves  seemed 


JET.  33]  THE   STUDENT   MOVEMENT  325 

ready  for  the  movement,  several  of  their  own  profess- 
ors organised  meetings,  and  from  Edinburgh  deputa- 
tions were  sent  to  address  these  under  the  leadership 
of  Professors  Charteris,  Grainger  Stewart,  and  Green- 
field, and  Dr.  Cathcart,  while  several  of  their  own  pro- 
fessors and  graduates  worked  hard  to  make  them  a 
success.  In  Aberdeen,  Dr.  Hay,  the  Professor  of 
Medical  Jurisprudence,  organised  three  meetings  be- 
fore the  end  of  the  session.  From  about  eight  hundred 
students  at  King's  and  Marischal  Colleges,  three  hun- 
dred and  eighty  attended  the  first  meeting,  addressed 
by  a  deputation  from  Edinburgh,  and  over  seventy 
remained  to  the  after-meeting,  the  majority  of  them 
discussing  questions  with  the  leaders  till  a  very  late 
hour.  More  than  three  hundred  attended  the  second 
and  third.  The  result  was  not  only  the  formation  of  a 
University  Christian  Association,  and  the  decision  of 
many  for  a  more  strenuous  Christianity,  but  the  moral 
elevation  of  the  whole  life  of  the  University,  which,  as 
I  remember  well,  was  not  transitory. 

In  Glasgow  the  movement  was  still  stronger.  The 
first  deputation  from  Edinburgh  consisted  of  Pro- 
fessor Grainger  Stewart,  Dr.  Cathcart,  Mr.  G.  P. 
Smith,1  one  of  the  chief  Organisers  of  the  Edinburgh 
work,  and  seven  other  students. 

From  James  M.  Macphail  to  Professor  Drummond 

2,  MAULL  TERRACE,  PARTICK,  March  16,  1885. 

'  The  hall  was  crowded  to  excess  by  the  most  orderly 
students'  meeting  I2  ever  attended.  Dr.  M'Kendrick 
presided,  and  Professors  Gairdner,  Ramsay,  Veitch, 

1  Now  a  medical  missionary  in  China. 

2  James  M.  Macphail  then  a  medical  student  at  Glasgow  University,  and  now 
medical  missionary  among  the  Santhals. 


326  HENRY  DRUMMOND     ,  [1885 

Robertson,  and  quite  a  crowd  of  assistants  were  present. 
The  Edinburgh  men  spoke  with  power,  especially,  I 
think,  the  young  fellows  who  were  making  a  public 
stand  for  Christ  for  the  first  time.  Four  hundred 
remained  to  the  after-meeting.  We  were  kept  busy 
till  about  ten  o'clock  [when  the  hall  had  to  be  closed]. 
Many  men  waited  who  had  been  thinking  about  accept- 
ing Christ  for  a  long  time,  and  who  talked  to  us  about 
their  difficulties.  As  far  as  we  could  see,  there  were 
many  cases  of  true  conversion,  and  also  of  spiritual 
quickening.  Dr.  M'Kendrick  told  me  the  meeting  was 
the  finest  he  had  ever  attended.  We  are  continuing 
our  union  of  prayer  in  our  rooms  at  ten  o'clock  every 
evening  this  week.' 

'March  10. 

'  The  meeting  on  Sabbath  evening  was  not  quite  so 
large  as  on  the  previous  Sabbath,  but  the  hall  was 
filled.  Dr.  M'Kendrick  took  the  chair,  and  Professors 
Dickson  and  Gairdner  were  on  the  platform,  and  quite 
a  number  of  assistants  were  present.  The  meeting 
was  a  very  impressive  one,  and  Dr.  M'Kendrick  spoke 
more  clearly  and  earnestly  than  I  had  ever  heard  him 
speak  before.  The  after-meeting  was  a  very  remark- 
able and,  I  believe,  fruitful  one.  The  inquirers  were 
of  all  sorts — some  convinced  of  sin,  some  atheists, 
some  anxious  to  be  Christians,  and  yet  with  doubts  and 
difficulties  in  the  way.  I  felt  very  much  the  extreme 
delicacy  of  the  task  of  dealing  with  many  of  these 
fellows.  Really  this  is  the  part  of  the  work,  above 
all  others,  which  demands  earnest  prayer.  Professors 
Gairdner,  Ramsay,  and  Jebb  have  been  waited  upon, 
and  have  expressed  a  very  deep  interest  in  the  whole 
movement.  Dr.  M'Kendrick  is  quite  convinced  that 
it  is  a  work  of  God  and  not  of  man.' 


^Er.  33]  THE  STUDENT  MOVEMENT  327 

'March  24. 

4  The  meeting  last  Sabbath  was  a  most  successful 
one.  Dr.  M'Gregor  Robertson  presided.  Dr.  Barbour 
gave  an  exceedingly  beautiful  and  striking  address, 
and  Dr.  Woodhead's  was  also  very  impressive.  The 
inquiry  meeting  was  a  large  and,  we  have  good  reason 
to  believe,  a  fruitful  one.' 

'March  30. 

'  Last  Sabbath's  meeting  was,  I  think,  the  most 
impressive  of  all.  The  hall  was  crowded  in  every 
part,  thirty  or  forty  having  to  stand.  Professor  Jebb 
presided,  but  did  very  little  beyond  giving  out  hymns 
and  introducing  the  speakers,  yet  the  mere  fact  that 
he  was  there  bore  testimony  to  the  widespread  interest 
in  the  movement.  Dr.  Williamson  of  China  gave  an 
address.  Dr.  Yellowlees,  Lecturer  on  Insanity,  and 
Dr.  Hay  [of  Aberdeen]  followed.  Our  after-meeting 
was  the  largest  we  have  had.  Dr.  Williamson  spoke 
a  few  words  from  the  platform ;  and  after  that  Pro- 
fessor Hay,  Dr.  Yellowlees,  and  Principal  Douglas 
went  among  the  students.  One  feature  of  this  meet- 
ing was  the  large  number  who  waited  to  discuss  doc- 
trinal difficulties.  Several  cases  of  apparent  decision 
for  Christ  came  under  my  own  notice.' 

Though  Drummond  could  not  attend  any  of  those 
Sunday  meetings,  he  met  with  the  Glasgow  students 
on  week-days  for  prayer  and  conference. 

When  the  session  came  to  an  end,  sixty  or  seventy 
of  the  Edinburgh  students  volunteered  to  carry  the 
influences  which  had  blessed  themselves  to  young  men 
in  other  towns.  So  the  Holiday  Mission  arose.  It 
spread  to  many  parts  of  Scotland,  England,  and  Ire- 
land. The  volunteers  were  carefully  organised,  and 
Drummond,  Dr.  Cathcart,  and  some  of  the  professors 
superintended  many  of  the  operations. 


328  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1885 

'3,  CARLTON  GARDENS,  March  24,  1885. 

'  Everything  goes  well.  And,  I  think,  by  the  time 
you  come  back  you  will  find  fires  lit  in  many 
places.  I  hear  that  the  third  year's  men,  at  their 
meeting  on  Sunday  afternoon  in  Edinburgh, 
arranged  to  start  eight  Bible-classes,  and  they 
hope  to  raise  the  number  to  fourteen.  They  had 
the  best  inquiry  meeting  they  have  yet  had. 
To-morrow  I  am  coming  to  meet  our  sixty  new 
evangelists.  They  have  all  been  summoned  by 
post-card  to  meet  in  Oddfellows'  Hall  at  five.  .  .  . 
Many  of  the  medicals  now  want  to  be  missionaries.' 

Which  of  us  does  not  still  remember  the  advent  of 
these  first  '  Holiday  Missioners '  among  our  manses ! 
They  were  scattered  upon  us  with  the  spring,  and 
they  came  young,  hearty,  and  laughing  to  be  free  of 
the  long  winter's  classes.  They  were  sent,  not  as 
advocates,  but  as  witnesses,  and  they  gave  their  testi- 
monies with  a  freshness  and  simplicity  that  went  to 
the  hearts  of  the  older  people  who  listened  to  them. 
Of  course,  there  were  crudities  and  indiscretions ;  but 
one  would  rather  have  had  these  than  undue  maturity 
and  bumptiousness,  of  which  there  was  next  to  noth- 
ing. Every  deputation  of  five  or  six  had  one  or  two 
really  able  men  among  them,  carrying  a  good  con- 
science from  their  past  work,  and  well  trained  in 
philosophy  or  science.  They  had  little  or  no  theology, 
but  they  told  of  Christ's  power  upon  themselves,  and 
did  so  in  a  manly,  moral  spirit  that  brought  new  hope 
to  every  tempted  man  who  heard  them.  They  talked, 
too,  of  their  doubts  and  intellectual  difficulties  in  a 
way  that  proved  very  profitable  to  us  ministers  in 
dealing  with  young  men,  and  appealed  most  power- 
fully to  those  of  their  own  age.  Naturally,  they 


Mi.  33]  THE   STUDENT  MOVEMENT  329 

impressed  their  educated  contemporaries  more  than 
others.  But  they  seldom  left  any  town  or  village, 
whatever  its  intellectual  condition  might  be,  without 
having  moved  several  young  men  to  a  clearer  and 
more  strenuous  life  in  dependence  upon  Christ.1 
Next  to  this,  they  interested  us  most  by  their  open 
reflection  of  Drummond.  His  way  of  putting  things, 
his  stories,  his  accent,  his  characteristic  reserve,  his 
pauses  and  hesitations,  were  reproduced  almost  to 
mimicry.  It  was  a  great  tribute  to  the  influence  of 
his  personality ;  but  how  we  used  to  chaff  him  about 
it! 

The  organisation  of  the  Holiday  Mission  cost  Drum- 
mond and  his  assistants  very  much  thought  and  hard 
work.  He  held  the  reins  firmly,  and  had  full  reports 
sent  to  him  through  the  secretaries.  From  all  the 
towns,  large  and  small,  of  the  Scottish  lowlands  he  has 
kept  letters  with  accounts  of  meetings  and  individual 
cases;  and  he  was  applied  to  almost  every  day  for 
counsel  as  to  the  latter,  as  well  as  to  the  general  strat- 
egy of  the  mission.  He  knew  the  perils  to  which  his 
young  missioners  were  exposed,  and  both  received 
reports  on  the  conduct  of  each,  and  returned  frank 
warnings.  There  are  many  grateful  letters  from  min- 
isters, to  whose  parishes  deputations  had  been  sent. 
Finally,  he  started  off  to  examine  some  of  the  work 
for  himself. 

1  In  Greenock  a  large  circus  was  filled  with  men  to  overflowing;  '  several 
openly  professed  decision  for  Christ  in  the  after-meeting.'  In  Crieff  Mr.  Hender- 
son said  there  had  been  nothing  like  the  results  since  1874.  In  Stirling  the  meet- 
ings were  '  crowded  and  enthusiastic.'  At  Killin  '  a  meeting  well  on  for  two 
hundred  men  for  a  beginning;'  in  Wick  week-night  audiences  varied  from  two 
hundred  to  three  hundred  ;  '  it  is  no  metaphor  to  say  that  the  whole  town  of 
Wick  is  moved  just  now ; '  unanimity  prevails  among  all  the  churches.  And  so 
forth.  In  Edinburgh  one  congregation  added  forty-five  young  communicants, 
'most  of  them  the  result  of  deputation  work.' 


33O  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1885 

To  Professor  Greenfield 

'  EASTBOURNE,  April  25,  1885. 

1 ...  I  came  here,  or  at  least  to  Brighton,  on  Mon- 
day, to  see  how  a  troupe  of  students  were  getting 
on  with  their  holiday  mission.  I  found  half  a 
dozen  of  them  hard  at  work,,  They  had  had 
meetings  for  eight  days  before  1  came,  and  with 
real  result.  They  are  splendid  fellows,  and  talked 
with  the  utmost  simplicity,  earnestness,  and  power. 
I  have  spent  the  last  month  in  visiting  the  depu- 
ties at  various  places,  and  am  greatly  impressed 
with  the  men.  Nearly  all  are  medicals,  some  mere 
boys,  and  a  finer  set  I  never  knew.  It  has  been 
a  real  privilege  to  be  among  them.  I  hear  four 
hundred  new  men  are  coming  up  to  Edinburgh 
this  summer.  What  a  work  is  before  you !  My 
heart  is  in  Edinburgh,  and  I  should  greatly  like 
to  be  back  again.  But  that  dreadful  business  at 
Grosvenor  House,  of  which  I  told  you,  is  in  full 
swing,  and  I  am  a  prisoner  till  then.' 

'  LONDON,  July  10,  1885. 

'  I  met  a  Bradford  man  yesterday,  who  had  been  to 
all  the  students'  meetings  in  B.  (we  sent  a  depu- 
tation there),  and  he  reports  a  deep  and  enduring 
impression.' 

In  October  Drummond  made  his  mission  to  the 
undergraduates  of  Oxford.  The  proposal  for  this  had 
begun  with  some  of  his  hearers  at  Grosvenor  House, 
and  with  one  or  two  Oxford  heads  who  had  read  his 
book.  There  were  some  difficulties  in  making  the 
arrangements,  for  Drummond  and  those  who  knew 
his  work  were  anxious  that  he  should  not  appear 


-^T.  33,  34]  THE  STUDENT   MOVEMENT  33! 

under  the  auspices  of  any  religious  school,  nor  in  con- 
tinuance of  the  conventional  methods  of  evangelistic 
work.  Finally,  there  was  a  wonderful  consensus  of 
invitations  to  him  from  all  quarters.  Sir  William 
Anson,  Warden  of  All  Souls;  Canon  Girdlestone; 
Canon  Scott  Holland;  Mr.  Butler  of  Oriel;  Canon 
Percival,  President  of  Trinity ;  the  Rev.  Mr.  Christo- 
pher; Mr.  George  N.  Curzon  and  Mr.  George  W. 
Russell  all  wrote  wishing  success,  and  offering  to  fa- 
cilitate arrangements  for  his  visit.  Drummond  went 
as  the  guest  of  Sir  William  Anson,  and  his  'first 
lecture '  was  advertised  for  the  '  Hall  of  Trinity  Col- 
lege on  Sunday,  October  25th,  at  9  P.M.,  open  to  under- 
graduate members  of  the  University.' 

To  Lady  Aberdeen 

'ALL  SOULS  COLLEGE,  OXFORD, 
Monday,  Oct.  26,  1885. 

'  The  Club  dinner  I  found  to  be  practically,  though 
not  nominally,  a  Liberal  gathering,  and  I  met 
quite  a  number  of  dons  —  the  Provost  of  Oriel 
(Munro),  with  whom  I  dine  to-night,  the  Warden 
of  Merton  (with  whom  I  had  tea  yesterday),  one 
of  the  other  Heads — Fowler  of  Corpus  —  and 
Professor  Bryce  and  Mr.  Pelham. 

4  On  my  arrival  on  Saturday  I  found  Mr.  Christopher 
waiting  for  me.  He  had  some  hundreds  of  circu- 
lars printed  for  his  proposed  meeting  next  Satur- 
day, but  my  telegram  had  stopped  their  issue. 
What  could  I  do?  I  had  really  no  excuse  for 
refusing,  so  the  thing  must  go  on,  though  I  fear 
he  will  find  he  has  caught  a  tartar.  After  all,  if 
anything  is  to  be  done  in  Oxford,  this  party1  must 

1  The  Evangelical. 


332  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1885 

be  carried  along  with  it.  They  will  supply  great 
and  essential  elements.  And  I  am  given  to  un- 
derstand that  the  various  parties  are  not  nearly 
so  distinct  and  alien  as  they  were  some  years  ago, 
and  that  a  combined  evangelistic  work  is  not 
impossible. 

'  On  the  whole,  therefore,  I  provisionally  agreed  to 
take  the  private  meetings,  provided  no  more 
urgent  work  opened.  I  now  find  that  these 
meetings  in  New  College  and  Christchurch  will 
serve  a  very  important  function,  and  are  perhaps 
the  best  service  I  can  do  here.  I  have  had  a  long 
talk  with  the  man  of  New  College  in  whose  rooms 
the  Thursday  meeting  was  to  be  held.  He  is  an 
old  Etonian,  and  rows  in  his  college  eight  and  the 
fours,  and  seems  a  capital  man. 

1  The  authorities  at  New  College  (as  the  result  of 
the  Science  in  last  night's  address)  have  to-day 
given  the  Common  Room,  or  Hall,  if  we  like,  for 
the  Thursday  meeting,  so  that  it  is  now  under  no 
auspices  at  all,  but  a  College  thing.  The  Musical 
Society  has  not  only  undertaken  to  postpone  their 
meeting,  but  is  going  to  distribute  circulars  for 
ours  personally.  The  man  at  Christchurch  who 
is  getting  up  the  meeting  there  to-morrow  is  not 
identified  with  any  party,  and  I  think  things  will 

go- 

'  When  I  got  to  Trinity  (I  had  called  on  the  Presi- 
dent in  the  afternoon  along  with  Sir  William 
Anson,  when  we  arranged  that  the  President 
should  take  the  chair),  I  found  the  hall  so 
crammed  that  we  could  scarcely  get  in.  All 
the  passages  were  crowded,  all  the  tables,  forms, 
cornices,  window-sills,  with  a  seething  mass  of 
undergraduates.  The  door  being  blocked,  they 


.  34]  THE   STUDENT   MOVEMENT  333 

were  pouring  in  through  the  windows  and  filling 

every  inch  of  space.      So  much  for  Mr. ,  to 

whom  I  have  just  written  thanks. 
'  I  need  not  say  how  inspiring  this  sight  was. 
It  was  a  most  unconventional  and  picturesque 
audience  —  the  thing  I  liked  best.  I  longed  to 
give  them  something  more  than  science,  and  I 
did,  a  little,  at  the  end ;  but  I  suppose  the  science 
was  right.  There  are  some  splendid  men  among 
the  undergraduates,  but  they  are  in  danger  of 
many  things,  especially  cant  and  precipitate  and 
too  aggressive  evangelism.  I  am  going  to  deluge 
them  with  cold  water  this  afternoon.' 

'  Oct.  28.  —  We  had  a  very  large  gathering  at 
Wycliffe  [Hall]  on  Monday,  all  the  Low  Church 
workers  and  one  or  two  dons  being  present.  I 
gave  them  a  sketch  of  the  Edinburgh  Movement, 
and  explained  at  length  our  theological  views  and 
methods  of  work.  They  seemed  much  surprised 
at  the  former,  i.e.  our  views,  but  did  not  instantly 
burn  me  at  the  stake,  as  I  feared.  On  the  con- 
trary, they  asked  many  questions,  and,  on  the 
whole,  I  think,  this  meeting  was  useful.  I  had 
no  idea  it  would  be  part  of  my  work  here  to  run 
a  tilt  at  the  evangelism  current  in  the  place,  but 
nothing  is  really  more  needed.  On  Tuesday 
afternoon  I  had  a  Conference  with  a  number  of 

men  —  mostly  Low  Church  workers  —  in 's 

rooms  at  New  College.  We  discussed  the  "  situ- 
ation "  for  two  hours,  and  I  learned  a  good  deal. 
These  men  are  eager  to  do  something  for  the 
University,  and  had  half  engaged  the  Corn  Ex- 
change for  me  for  next  Sunday  afternoon.  After 
much  consideration,  I  refused  to  attempt  this. 


334  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1885 

The  time  is  not  ripe  yet;  there  are  not  the  men 
to  do  it ;  it  could  not  be  followed  up ;  and  it 
might  compromise  my  present  mission,  which  I 
find  is  a  very  peculiar  and  delicate  one.  In  fact, 
I  feel  this  week  more  like  reconnoitring  than 
doing  the  actual  battle  —  that  must  be  done  by 
somebody  later. 

*  The  meeting  at  Christchurch  last  night,  I  think, 
went  off  well.1  We  had  a  large  roomful  of 
men  —  mostly,  I  believe,  freshmen,  for  whom  the 
meeting  seems  to  have  been  specially  got  up.  I 
think  the  gathering  at  New  College  to-morrow 
will  be  much  larger  and  more  representative. 

'  As  to  social  arrangements.  On  Monday  I 
dined  with  the  Provost  of  Oriel  (whose  people  I 
know),  and  met  Freeman  the  historian,  Professor 
Bryce,  Mr.  Butler,  and  others.  On  Tuesday  I 
lunched  at  All  Souls  with  some  of  the  Fellows, 
Sir  William  Anson  being  from  home  for  the  day. 
This  morning  Canon  Fremantle  came  here  to 
breakfast,  and  to-night  the  President  of  Trinity 
comes  to  dinner.  Mrs.  Liddell  was  at  tea  yester- 
day, and  I  had  a  short  talk  with  her.  To-morrow 
I  breakfast  with  Mr.  Butler  at  Oriel  to  meet 
Canon  Holland;  luncheon  at  Trinity  with  one  of 
the  Fellows ;  tea  with  Rhoda  Broughton  at  her 
house ;  and  dine  before  my  nine  o'clock  meeting 
with  the  Vice-Chancellor.  Mr.  Jowett  wrote  me 
a  very  kind  note  — 

'"OXFORD,  Oct.  22,  1885. 

' "  DEAR  SIR,  —  Would  you,  if  I  may  make  the  pro- 
posal, give  me  the  pleasure  of  your  company  at  dinner 
tete-a-tete,  either  on  Thursday  or  Friday  at  7.30?  — 
Believe  me,  yours  very  sincerely,  B.  JOWETT." 

1  The  meeting  was  larger  than  the  previous  one  in  Trinity. 


.  34]  THE   STUDENT   MOVEMENT  335 

'  Oct.  30.  —  I  thought  my  dinner  with  the  Vice- 
Chancellor  very  sad.  We  were  entirely  alone, 
and  had  a  good  talk,  also  occasional  silences. 
He  asked  me  if  in  Scotland  we  were  now  gener- 
ally giving  up  belief  in  Miracles  —  he  meant  as  a 
sign  of  progress. 

'  I  called  for  Dean  Liddell  yesterday  on  his  granting 
the  hall  at  Christchurch.  He  gave  me  pretty 
clearly  to  understand  that  it  was  solely  on  Aber- 
deen's account.  He  thawed  a  little  after  twenty 
minutes  over  tea,  but  I  thought  him  very  appall- 
ing. I  said  they  wanted  leaders  here,  but  really 
they  are  almost  hopeless.  I  thought  I  had  got  a 
number  of  the  best  undergraduates  to  understand 
our  Edinburgh  methods  of  work  and  to  attempt 
something  on  our  lines  —  i*.  to  work  with  abso- 
lutely neutral  and  colourless  men,  both  ecclesias- 
tically and  theologically.  And  this  is  what  they 

have  done :  made  out  a  list,  including , , 

, ,  and  his  wife  to  sing !  I  have  implored 

them  to  tear  up  the  list,  and  I  think  they  see  it. 
The  only  immediate  counter  proposal  I  can  make 
is  to  get  a  deputation  of  Edinburgh  students  for 
the  8th,  and  some  notable  man  (a  young  M.P.,  I 
hope)  for  the  chair. 

'  I  think  we  have  at  least  four  first-rate  men  at 
Edinburgh  who  would  come,  and  I  shall  put  this 
in  train  at  once.  The  chair  can  be  arranged  later. 
I  have  told  the  Low  Church  men  to  repress  them- 
selves entirely  and  keep  out  of  sight,  but  to  work 
behind  the  scenes  to  any  extent.  To  the  latter 
our  ways  of  work,  our  leading  ideas,  the  absence 
of  cant  and  of  evangelical  formulas,  are  a  com- 
plete revelation,  and  I  really  think  they  will  adopt 
them.  It  is  inconceivable  how  left  to  themselves 


336  HENRY   DRUMMOXD  [1885 

they  have  been.  The  proposal  is  to  take  the 
Clarendon  for  a  few  Sunday  nights ;  but  the  great 
difficulty  is  to  get  speakers.  The  High  Church 
party  have  arranged  a  special  series  of  University 
sermons  in  St.  Mary's  on  Sundays  at  eight,  and 
have  engaged  some  splendid  men.  The  other 
meeting  might  be  grafted  on  to  this  as  a  species 
of  Second  or  Inquiry  Meeting,  and  would  have 
to  be  at  nine.  I  know  some  of  the  Committee  of 
this  series  —  Mr.  Butler  and  Canon  Holland  — 
and  both  are  anxious  to  have  an  Inquiry  Meeting 
afterwards,  but  do  not  see  how  it  can  be  managed. 
Perhaps  our  meeting  may  be  the  solution,  but  we 
shall  see  how  things  develop  before  doing  any- 
thing definitely. 

'  It  would  be  a  real  gain  to  unite  the  low  and  high 
factions  in  a  piece  of  neutral  evangelistic  work. 

'  The  meeting  at  New  College  last  night  interested 
me  greatly.  A  great  many  men  turned  up,  the 
men  were  most  attentive,  and  I  hope  the  occasion 
was  not  lost,  though  of  course  one  had  no  indica- 
tion of  how  they  took  it' 

The  following  letter  from  the  present  Bishop  of 
Rochester,  then  Warden  of  Keble,  reached  Drum- 
mond  after  he  left  Oxford:  — 

'KEBLE  COLLEGE,  OXFORD,  Nov.  2,  1885. 

'  MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  May  I  send  a  line  to  thank  you 
for  taking  the  trouble  to  come  up  to  me  so  early  before 
your  journey?  It  was  a  great  disappointment  not  to 
see  you. 

'  We  have  much  reason  to  be  grateful  to  you,  espe- 
cially for  what  I  have  lately  heard  of  the  motives  of 
your  visit  to  Oxford.  You  have  seen,  I  know,  some 


Ml.  34]  THE   STUDENT   MOVEMENT  337 

of  my  great  friends,  Holland  and  Butler,  and  I  hope 
that  some  good  may  have  its  source  in  your  talks. 

'  It  is  perhaps  a  happy  feature  of  the  present  time, 
which  is  certainly  one  of  revived  religious  feeling  in 
Oxford,  that  one  of  our  greatest  difficulties  is  to  dis- 
cern the  right  ways  of  doing  good  and  teaching  it,  to 
choose  those  which  follow  best  the  lines  of  God's  own 
working,  to  handle  safely  such  powerful  but  difficult 
instruments  as  emotional  appeal  and  temporary  enthu- 
siasms and  the  like. 

'  Since  writing  this  my  wife  tells  me  that  you  have 
just  been  discussing  with  her  part  of  this  very  sub- 
ject—  the  difficulty  of  maintaining  impressions  and  of 
chronic  work.  May  God  guide  us  all  in  truth  and 
love.  —  Yours  very  faithfully,  H.  TALBOT.' 

To  Professor  Greenfield  Drummond  had  written :  — 
'ALL  SOULS  COLLEGE,  OXFORD,  Oct.  27,  1885. 

*  We  had  a  tremendous  turnout  here  on  Sunday 
night ;  in  fact,  as  the  Americans  say,  it  was  neces- 
sary to  take  the  paper  off  the  walls.  I  am  at  it 
every  night  this  week,  though  in  different  colleges, 
and  finish  next  Sunday  night.  I  think  the  place 
is  ripe.' 

If  Drummond  was  right, — and  he  was  an  expert  in 
the  work,  —  there  was  nobody  and  nothing  at  Oxford 
to  reap  the  harvest.  The  man  for  whom  he  looked,1 
able  to  lead  a  movement  and  unsworn  to  any  religious 
party,  failed  to  appear ;  but  if  he  had  appeared  and  had 
been  gifted  with  Drummond's  own  powers,  it  is  doubt- 
ful whether  he  could  have  done  such  work  in  Oxford 
as  for  years  Drummond  continued  to  do  in  Edinburgh. 
The  conditions  were  very  different.  Earnest  attempts 

1  See  p.  334  f. 


338  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1885-86 

were  made  at  Oxford.  Men  of  all  religious  schools 
had  been  impressed  by  Drummond's  addresses  and 
his  explanation  of  the  methods  on  which  he  worked. 
I  have  been  much  struck,  in  the  letters  I  have  read, 
with  the  sincere  desire  on  the  part  of  the  leaders,  both 
of  the  High  Church  and  the  Low  Church,  to  see  what 
one  letter  calls  '  more  direct  and  faithful  mission  work 
among  the  students  than  we  have  yet  had.'  At  least 
one  deputation  came  from  Edinburgh  after  Drummond 
had  left,  and  were  favourably  received  by  a  large  audi- 
ence, among  whom  were  many  leading  dons.  More 
than  one  conference  was  held  to  consult  as  to  the  con- 
tinuance of  the  work.  But  however  sincere  those  were, 
they  only  served  to  reveal  (as  Drummond's  corre- 
spondence proves)  insuperable  differences  of  opinion 
as  to  methods.  These  were  not  differences  between 
Church  and  Dissent,  but  between  High  Church  and 
Low  Church.  The  work  was  abandoned. 

On  the  8th  of  November,  Drummond  held  a  very 
large  meeting  for  students  in  Glasgow.  A  few  more 
followed  at  intervals,  and  were  addressed  by  himself 
and  other  University  men.  But  in  Glasgow  no  move- 
ment arose,  growing  and  permanent,  like  the  move- 
ment in  Edinburgh,  and  in  subsequent  years  Drum- 
mond does  not  appear  to  have  tried  to  start  one. 
Why  there  should  have  been  this  difference  is  not  very 
clear.  The  facts  are,  that  in  Glasgow  there  is  not  the 
large  body  of  English,  colonial,  and  foreign  students 
who  frequented  the  meetings  in  Edinburgh ;  in  Edin- 
burgh the  bulk  of  the  students  reside  in  a  compara- 
tively small  area ;  in  Glasgow  they  are  not  only  scat- 
tered over  an  enormous  city  whose  distances  can  only 
be  covered  by  railways  not  open  on  Sundays,  but  a 
large  proportion  of  them  live  in  the  smaller  towns 
around;  and,  above  all,  those  Glasgow  students  who 


Mr.  34]  THE  STUDENT   MOVEMENT  339 

are  most  interested  in  religion,  and  who  could  have 
best  organised  a  movement,  are  (part  of  them  even  in 
their  Arts  course)  occupied  with  city  missions,  in  which 
they  have  an  amount  of  work  and  responsibility  that 
effectually  disables  them  from  other  interests. 

In  Edinburgh  the  movement  continued  and  increased 
throughout  session  1885-86.  In  October  there  was 
a  meeting  of  fifteen  hundred  without  Drummond's 
presence  to  draw  them.  The  students  urgently  pressed 
him  to  return,  and  he  went  back  for  another  series  of 
meetings  in  February  and  March.  The  following  are 
extracts  from  his  letters  to  various  friends :  — 

'Oct.  25,  1885.  —  When  I  shall  get  to  Edinburgh, 
I  know  not.  I  have  to  begin  the  Glasgow  meet- 
ings on  Nov.  8th,  but  my  heart  is  in  Edinburgh.' 

'  Dec.  1 6. — I  fear  it  will  be  impossible  for  me  to  get 
to  Dundee.  The  students'  work  takes  up  all  my 
time,  and  I  have  to  refuse  all  outside  engage- 
ments—  even  yours,  alas!' 

'Feb.  26,  1886. — You  ask  about  the  Edinburgh 
students.  I  send  you  a  letter  from  one  of  them, 
which  will  let  you  know  what  is  going  on  all 
round.  The  work  is  still  very  wide  and  deep, 
and  I  am  still  going  there  every  Sunday.  Four 
of  the  students  went  as  a  deputation  to  Belfast  on 
Sunday  week,  and  between  Sunday  and  Monday 
night  addressed  twelve  meetings,  the  most  im- 
portant being  at  the  College  there.  .  .  . 

'  Now  I  must  rush  for  the  Edinburgh  train.' 

'March  13. — The  Edinburgh  work  goes  on  with 
unabated  interest.  For  the  last  two  Sundays  I 
have  been  trying  to  tell  them  something  about 
the  Kingdom  of  God — after  Ecce  Homo.  We 
had  a  very  large  after-meeting  last  Sunday,  and  I 


340  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1886 

think  the  impression  deepens  as  the  term  draws 
to  its  close.  A  desire  has  sprung  up  to  have  the 
Sacrament  all  together  in  our  own  hall,  the  Odd- 
fellows' Hall,  on  the  last  Sunday  night  of  the 
session,  and  we  are  making  arrangements  to  have 
it  done.  It  will  be  to-morrow  fortnight,  and  I 
think  Professor  Charteris  will  take  the  leading 
part.  To-night  we  have  a  meeting  to  organise 
the  Summer  Holiday  Mission.  Belfast  and  the 
North  of  Ireland  are  to  have  strong  deputations 
in  April  —  especially  the  colleges  at  Belfast, 
Derry,  and  possibly  Dublin. 

*  I  am  starting  now  to  see  the  International  Football 
Match  at  Edinburgh.' 

'March  27. —  Dr.  Whyte  and  Dr.  Charteris  take 
our  Communion  Service  to-morrow  night.' 

'April  12. — We  had  a  very  happy  party  at  Arran. 
Twenty-two  came,  and  Dr.  Greenfield  joined  us. 
He  and  I  meant  staying  over  the  Sunday,  but 
smelt  battle  across  the  sea,  and  could  not  help 
flying  off  to  Ayr,  where  six  Edinburgh  students 
were  making  their  debut.  We  concealed  our- 
selves till  Sunday  afternoon,  and  then  dropped 
suddenly  among  them,  when  they  were  "gathered 
in  one  place  for  prayer."  They  were  on  their 
knees  praying  for  help  when  we  entered.  Two, 
however,  were  in  the  secret,  as  they  had  discov- 
ered us  at  church.  We  had  a  good  meeting  at 
night,  and  the  deputies  kept  at  it  all  week,  not 
without  result.' 

The  secretary  of  the  Holiday  Mission  reported  this 
month  deputations  to  between  fifteen  and  twenty 
places  in  Scotland,  England,  and  Ireland.  '  On  the 
whole,  the  news  from  all  round  is  good.  The  work  is 


MT.  35]  THE  STUDENT  MOVEMENT  341 

very  much  worth  helping  by  all  accounts.'  Most  im- 
portant was  the  work  at  Aberystwyth,  and  Drummond 
himself  went  to  it. 

To  Lord  Aberdeen 

'ABERYSTWYTH,  May  i,  1886. 

'  MY  DEAR  ABERDEEN,  —  I  arrived  here,  after  a  very 
fine  crossing,  yesterday  afternoon,  and  found  the 
place  ripe  for  action. 

'  The  students  from  Edinburgh  began  last  Monday 
by  a  novel  manoeuvre:  For  two  days  they  held 
no  meetings  at  all,  but  attended  the  Annual 
Athletic  Sports  of  the  University,  and  other- 
wise threw  themselves  into  the  students'  in- 
terests. They  also  were  present  at  a  social 
gathering  on  the  Tuesday  night;  and  the  only 
one  of  them  who  spoke,  instead  of  giving  the 
company  a  sermon,  proposed  in  a  humorous 
speech  the  toast  of  "The  Ladies."  The  effect 
of  this  was  to  secure  the  whole  "  'varsity  "  for  the 
meeting  on  Wednesday,  and  a  profound  impres- 
sion was  made.  Thursday  night  was  equally 
good,  and  last  night  we  had  to  move  into  a  bigger 
hall.  Great  interest  is  created  both  among  pro- 
fessors and  students,  and  I  am  very  glad  I  came. 
We  have  a  meeting  again  to-night,  and  three  or 
four  to-morrow ;  in  fact,  we  shall  be  at  it  all  day 
long.' 

The  difficulties  were  great,  chiefly  the  jealousies 
between  Church  and  Chapel ;  but  the  work  progressed 
and  spread  to  other  places,  with  the  result  of  many 
conversions  and  the  dedication  of  a  large  number  of 
young  men  to  a  life  of  service. 

During  the  summer  Professor  Christlieb  wrote  from 


342  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1886-87 

Bonn  to  Professor  Charteris  of  Edinburgh,  inviting  a 
deputation  of  students  to  come  over  to  the  German 
University.  It  was  ultimately  arranged  that  Drum- 
mond  should  go,  along  with  Mr.  G.  P.  Smith,  a  medi- 
cal student,  who  had  taken  from  the  first  a  leading 
part  in  the  Edinburgh  movement,  and  was  now  study- 
ing at  Vienna.  Natural  Law  had  by  this  time  been 
translated  into  German,  and  Drummond's  name  was 
well  known. 

'BONN,  Oct.  26,  1886. 

' .  .  .  The  University  has  allowed  a  notice  of  my 
meeting  on  the  "  privileged "  blackboard,  and 
Christlieb,  who  has  the  largest  theology  class, 
has  intimated  it  from  the  chair  and  urged  the 
men  to  come.  A  good  turnout  is  not  to  be 
expected,  although  Christlieb  is  sanguine.  The 
difficulties  here  are  enormous.  Evangelism  is 
hated,  loathed.  Still,  a  feeble  spark  may  smoulder 
on,  and  time  create  a  more  accessible  field  for 
our  bigger  deputation,  which  I  hope  will  follow 

next  year.' 

'GLASGOW,  Nov.  6,  1886. 

*  I  am  in  a  whirl  of  work,  and  have  only  time  to  say 
one  word  about  Bonn.  It  was  a  strange  experi- 
ence. The  chief  feature  of  the  mission  was  one 
big  meeting,  at  which  some  of  the  professors  (one 
or  two  science  men  amongst  them)  were  present, 
when  I  gave  a  detailed  narrative  of  the  Edinburgh 
movement.  Questions  were  invited  at  the  end, 
and  for  half  an  hour  I  was  under  a  keen  fire.  The 
depth  of  ignorance  shown  in  these  questions  was 
appalling.  I  think  the  men  were  interested,  on 
the  whole,  and  one  or  two  have  promised  to  take 
the  thing  up.  By  and  by  we  shall  send  them 
another  deputation.' 


MT.  35]  THE  STUDENT  MOVEMENT  343 

Drummond  must  have  made  a  deep  impression  at 
Bonn ;  for  among  his  papers,  I  find  a  requisition  from 
a  large  body  of  students  of  the  University,  inviting 
him  to  return  and  hold  a  second  series  of  meetings. 

When  he  returned  to  Scotland  in  the  beginning 
of  November,  the  Edinburgh  work  occupied  his 
attention. 

'  Nov.  13,  1886. —  I  ran  in  to  Edinburgh  this  week 
to  see  the  students.  They  are  to  go  on  with  their 
meeting.  I  absolutely  refused  to  go  there  mean- 
time, as  they  have  scores  of  men  among  them- 
selves perfectly  able  to  run  the  thing.  So  they 
will  start  to-morrow,  the  Principal  in  the  chair. 
They  have  founded  an  East  End  University 
Settlement  (like  Toynbee),  and  have  five  or  six 
first-rate  men  already  in  residence.' 
Dec.  1 6.  —  For  me  it  will  be  a  quiet  winter.  I  see 
it  pretty  well  before  me.  I  have  begun  The 
Ascent  of  Man,  though  it  climbs  slowly,  slowly. 
Then  after  the  Christmas  holidays  I  begin  Edin- 
burgh. You  know,  I  have  purposely  left  it  alone 
this  month  to  let  them  try  themselves.  And 
they  have  succeeded  perfectly.  I  got  a  descrip- 
tion of  their  meeting  of  last  Sunday  night,  which 
really  filled  me  with  awe.' 

His  Edinburgh  meetings  began  in  the  end  of  Janu- 
ary. In  addition  to  the  usual  gathering  of  students 
on  Sunday  evenings,  in  the  Oddfellows'  Hall,  an  after- 
noon service  was  started  for  schoolboys. 

'Jan.  27,  1887.  —  Edinburgh  was  splendid  last  Sun- 
day.' 

'  Feb.  1 7.  —  Edinburgh  is  as  good  as  ever,  both  the 
boys  and  the  students.' 


344  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1887 

'  March  3.  —  Professor  was  in  the  chair  last 

Sunday  night  at  the  students'  meeting,  and  led 
off  with  a  really  fine  address.  The  meeting 
deepens  in  interest,  and  I  have  many  bad  hours 
preparing  for  it  every  week.  That  sort  of  thing 
keeps  the  rush  off  splendidly.  The  current  is 
flowing  very  deep  and  strong.  I  do  not  think  I 
would  exchange  that  audience  for  anything  else 
in  the  world.  The  Boys'  Meeting  also,  which 
was  meant  only  to  last  a  Sunday  or  two,  has 
grown  into  an  institution,  and  will  not  stop.  Last 
Sunday,  after  the  hour's  meeting,  I  sent  all  the 
small  boys  home,  and  kept  two  or  three  hundred 
of  the  big  ones  for  a  private  talk  about  decision. 
We  did  not  think  it  wise  to  cross-examine  them 
individually,  or  put  any  undue  pressure  upon 
them,  but  I  am  sure  many  of  them  are  thinking 
most  seriously.  One  difficulty  is  to  get  into  their 
heads  that  they  are  to  be  religious  as  boys,  and 
that  they  need  not  be  so  "  pious  "  as  their  maiden 
aunts.  I  heard  this  incidentally  the  other  day : 
The  boys  from  one  of  the  Edinburgh  schools 
were  playing  a  football  match  against  a  team  from 
another  public  school  (not  Edinburgh).  During 
the  game  the  strangers  used  some  bad  language. 
At  "  half-time  "  the  Edinburgh  boys  got  together 
and  resolved  that  they  would  do  collectively  what 
they  saw  it  would  be  priggish  to  do  individually 
—  namely,  tell  the  other  side  that  they  must  stop 
this,  or  the  game  could  not  go  on.  They  followed 
this  up  by  saying  that  unless  this  were  done,  their 
school  would  never  play  a  match  with  them  again. 
It  came  on  the  strangers  like  a  thunderbolt,  but 
they  gave  in  at  once.' 

'  March  10.  —  We  had  very  fine  meetings  again  last 


JET.  35]  THE   STUDENT   MOVEMENT  345 

Sunday,  and  a  conversazione  for  the  students  on 
Saturday  evening.  Among  other  things,  we  then 
got  from  sixty  to  eighty  entirely  new  men  to  start 
a  "  Holiday  Mission  "  next  month.' 
'  March  24.  —  Sunday  was  our  last  great  meeting 
for  the  winter,  and  I  can  never  forget  it.  Our 
hall  was  crammed  to  the  door,  and  at  the  close 
we  asked  all  the  men  who  had  become  Christians 
to  remain  and  join  in  the  Sacrament.  Over  six 
hundred  waited  —  men  of  every  kindred  and 
tongue.  Sir  William  Muir  was  present,  and 
many  of  the  professors,  and  Dr.  Charteris  dis- 
pensed the  Sacrament.  Some  of  the  students 
acted  as  elders,  and  the  leading  prizemen  were  all 
with  us.  The  work  has  been  outwardly  very 
quiet  this  winter,  and  none  of  us  had  the  least 
idea  it  was  taking  such  marvellous  hold  until  we 
gathered  around  the  Communion  table.  Forty 
or  fifty  have  volunteered  to  work  in  the  "  Univer- 
sity Settlement "  in  the  East  End,  and  about  a 
hundred  have  given  in  their  names  for  a  Holiday 
Mission  in  summer,  and  especially  in  April  next. 
All  this,  and  the  Boys'  Meeting, — which  is  bigger 
than  ever,  —  has  kept  me  very  busy  for  the  last 
month  or  two,  and  it  has  been  a  great  strain.' 

'STEAMER  "BRODICK  CASTLE,"  March  31,  1887. 

'  The  above  heading  may  suggest  Timbuctoo,  but  it 
is  only  Arran.  I  take  my  students  for  a  week's 
geology  there  every  year,  and  I  cannot  tell  you 
what  a  relief  it  is  to  get  out  of  the  smoke.  Green- 
field and  some  of  the  Edinburgh  medicals  are  to 
join  our  party  at  Arran,  and  we  are  looking  for- 
ward to  some  capital  climbs. 

$  Edinburgh  still  glows.     We  have  not  been  able  to 


346  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1888 

stop  the  meetings.     I  had  four  last  Sunday,  and 

have  four  more  next. 
'  Now  I  must  go  to  my  brethren  of  the  hammer, 

who  are  having  a  lively  time  on  deck.' 
'April. —  It  would  be  splendid  to  get  among  the 

heather  and  the  fish  for  a  little,  for  my  spirit  pines 

in  this  tunnel. 
'  I  am  just  rushing  off  to  Uddingstone,  where  a  band 

of  the  Edinburgh  students  have  been  at  work  all 

week. 
'  The   Holiday  Mission  is  in  full  swing,  and  quiet 

good  doing  all  round.     All  this  keeps  one's  mind 

away  from  the  shame  of  politics.     The  sides  get 

more  and  more  bitter.' 

So  from  year  to  year  the  work  went  on.  The 
summer  and  autumn  of  1887  saw  it  carried  by  Drum- 
mond  himself  to  the  American  Universities,  as  will 
be  described  in  another  chapter.  When  he  returned 
to  Scotland  he  found  the  Edinburgh  students  as  eager 
as  ever  to  continue  the  movement,  and  the  arrival  of 
a  deputation  from  America  gave  the  movement  a  new 
impulse. 

4  November  8,  1887.  —  The  students  at  Edinburgh 
are  determined  to  start  work  at  once ;  and  I  was 
already  advertised  for  next  Sunday,  although  I 
had  written  protesting  that  I  would  have  nothing 
more  to  do  with  them,  as  they  could  now  get 
along  themselves.  But  a  deputation  came  to 
Glasgow,  and  my  heart  melted.  In  any  case, 
however,  I  could  not  get  away  from  my  Glasgow 
work;  and,  although  it  is  hard  often  to  be  tied, 
so  incorrigible  a  free-lance  as  myself  needs  it.' 

'November  14.  —  My  father  is  also  a  case  of 
hoping  almost  against  hope.  But  at  the  moment 


.  35-36]  THE  STUDENT   MOVEMENT  347 

there  is  a  hairbreadth  of  improvement,  and 

said  I  might  go  in  to  Edinburgh  for  the  students 
yesterday.  We  had  the  hall  crammed,  and  the 
American  deputation  gave  an  account  of  their 
work.  It  was  wonderfully  interesting,  and  told 
palpably  on  the  hundreds  of  new  men  who  were 
there.' 

'  November  24.  —  I  am  advertised  for  the  Edin- 
burgh students  next  Sunday.  It  was  the  same 
last  Sunday,  and  I  disappointed  them,  and  if  at 
all  possible  I  ought  to  keep  the  engagement  this 
time.  But,  to  tell  the  truth,  I  had  all  but  given 
up  hope  of  getting  there,  as  my  father's  condition 
has  been  most  critical  for  the  last  day  or  two. 
He  could  not  well  be  much  worse  than  he  is, 
but  if  he  were,  I  fear  I  could  not  go  to  Edin- 
burgh. .  .  . 

*  If,  however,  my  father's  condition  remains  satis- 

factory, I  feel  I  ought  to  go  to  Edinburgh.  I 
would  very  much  rather  not,  but  I  see  no  way  of 
escape  from  so  plainly  the  line  of  "  ought." ' 

*  December  10.  —  You  do  not  know  what  an  unver- 

satile  being  I  am,  and  how  I  recoil  from  all  but 
one  or  two  special  lines  of  work. 

*  We  had  a  big  meeting  of  the  students  on  Saturday 

night,  and  the  biggest  of  the  term  on  Sunday. 
We  also  started  the  schoolboy  meeting  yesterday 
afternoon.' 

'January  i,  1888.  —  These  terrible  medicals  are  at 
it  again,  —  a  conversazione,  —  this  time  in  George 
Street  Hall  next  Saturday  evening.  They  will 
not  let  one  eat  one's  dinner  in  peace.  I  do 
hope  you  have  made  no  plans,  for  they  have 
upset  your  arrangements  every  time.  —  Growl- 
ingly  yours,  H.  D.' 


348  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1888-94 

'  January  28,  1888.  —  Edinburgh  takes  a  lot  of  time, 
for  we  are  in  full  sail  there  again,  and  I  had  three 
students'  meetings  last  Saturday  and  Sunday.  I 
am  also  in  the  middle  of  a  persecution. 

'  Did  you  see  a  letter  in  the  Christian  about  my 
heresies,  signed  by  a  medical  student  ?  A  small 
clique  has  addressed  a  printed  circular  to  the 
Edinburgh  ministers,  begging  them  to  suppress 
me  and  my  views.  Of  course,  I  have  taken  no 
notice,  and  I  think  it  has  not  hindered  the  work 
at  all,  which  is  the  main  thing.  Now  I  have 
brought  myself  up  to  date.  You  see  I  am  not 
doing  much. 

*  My  one  engagement  is  Edinburgh,  which  I  fear  I 
dare  not  abandon,  even  for  a  Sunday,  in  the 
present  persecution,  though  I  would  fain  let  it 
go,  for  none  knows  what  a  nightmare  that  work 

is.     I  have  an  important  commission  for as 

soon  as  he  gets  into  Parliament,  to  rush  a  Bill 
through  securing  a  Copyright  in  Public  Speech ; 
i.e.  to  prevent  these  irresponsible  miscreants,  the 
reporters,  from  doing  their  work  except  when 
permission  and  revision  are  granted  by  their 
miserable  victim. 

'  This  scream  is  not  apropos  the  Pope,  but  many 
other  enormities.' 

'March  26,  1888. —  It  is  very  hard  to  be  called 
names,  but  very  right,  and  in  the  nature  of  things 
altogether  inevitable.  "  It  is  enough  for  the  ser- 
vant that  he  be  as  his  Master." ' 

In  session  1888-89  it  was  still  the  same. 

'November  12,  1888. —  Really  fine  students'  meet- 
ing yesterday,  hall  filled  to  standing,  and  much 


-ET.  33-43]  THE  STUDENT  MOVEMENT  349 

interest.  I  fear  I  am  in  for  it  again  this  winter, 
but  I  really  wanted  a  few  months'  peace.' 

'November  26,  1888. —  I  dinna  think  I  can  come. 
Edinburgh  is  at  it  again,  and  I  must  stick  there. 
You  know,  I  have  no  faith  in  a  stray  shot,  and 
mean  to  bombard  the  students  steadily  both  here 
and  at  Edinburgh.  It  is  too  dreadful  to  have  to 
refuse  you  so  often,  but  you  know  your  man.' 

'February  26,  1889. —  May  I  spread  my  mat  at 

No. ?  I  fancy  we  shall  have  only  two  more 

meetings  after  next  Sunday,  so  one  may  not  have 
the  chance  of  a  cigarette  again  for  a  little,  so  I 
hope  you  can  give  me  a  corner.' 

So  week  after  week  during  January,  February,  and 
March  he  held  the  Edinburgh  meetings.  In  August 
there  was  a  Students'  Conference  at  Bonskeid,  very 
active  and  very  successful.  And  session  1889-90  saw 
the  work  as  engrossing  as  in  previous  years,  the 
freshmen  who  had  come  up  as  interested  and  respon- 
sive as  their  predecessors  had  been. 

'January  6,  1890.  —  All  the  Sundays  now  for  two 
months  or  so  must  be  in  Edinburgh  —  at  least  I 
think  so. 

'  We  begin  next  Saturday  night  with  a  conver- 
sazione in  the  new  Students'  Union  Building, 
which  is  just  opened.  Twelve  hundred  invitations 
are  out.  A  deputation  of  Cambridge  men  are 
coming.  On  Sunday  the  old  meeting  in  the 
Oddfellows'  Hall  begins,  but  though  I  preside, 
the  Cambridge  men  will  do  the  bulk  of  the 
talking. 

'  I  have  been  flying  everywhere  during  these  last 
days  —  first  accompanying  my  mother  to  a  place 


35O  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1884-94 

near  Edinburgh  for  a  little,  and  then  going  a  round 
of  meetings  both  in  Edinburgh  and  Glasgow.  It  is 
the  busiest  time  amongst  the  poor,  and  especially 
among  the  tempted,  and  it  has  fallen  to  my  lot 
this  year  to  devote  my  holiday  mainly  to  them, 
turning  up  at  my  mother's  from  time  to  time  as  I 
could.' 

'January  n,  1890.  —  I  have  been  in  Edinburgh  — 
meetings,  meetings,  meetings  —  and  am  just  start- 
ing back  again  for  more.' 

Such  was  the  outer  history  of  the  Student  Move- 
ment so  far  as  Drummond  himself  has  told  it,  and 
his  notes  for  the  years  1884-90  hold  good  also  for 
1891-94. 

In  these  ten  years  the  work  covered  about  three 
generations  of  students,  and  Drummond  was  able  to 
give  many  of  his  better-known  addresses  more  than 
once,  but  always  with  varieties  and  additions  suitable 
to  the  occasion.  At  first  he  confined  himself  to  very 
simple  themes:  '•Seek  ye  first  the  Kingdom  of  God? 
Christ's  call  to  the  weary  and  heavy  laden  to  learn 
of  Him,  and  similar  texts.  Sometimes  he  had  these 
printed  upon  cards  and  distributed  to  his  audience  as 
they  entered,  as  thus :  — 

Let  the  wicked  forsake  his  way 

And  the  unrighteous  man  his  thoughts  : 

And  let  him  return  unto  the  Lord, 

And  He  will  have  Mercy  upon  him, 
And  to  our  God 

For  He  will  abundantly  Pardon. 

STUDENTS'  MEETING,  '  HIM  THAT  COMETH  UNTO  ME 

MARCH  8,  1885.  I  WILL  IN  NO  WISE  CAST  OUT.' 

Those  addresses  were  all  upon  the  relation  of  the 
individual  to  Christ.  In  1886  he  began  to  emphasise 


^ET.  33-43]  THE   STUDENT  MOVEMENT  351 

the  social  aspects  of  religion,  and  gave  some  addresses 
on  the  Kingdom  of  God,  based  on  Ecce  Homo ;  his 
Programme  of  Christianity  from  Isaiah  Ixi. ;  and  his 
address,  or  parts  of  it,  on  i  Cor.  xiii.  Then  while 
preparing  his  lectures  on  The  Ascent  of  Man,  he  took 
up  the  relations  of  science  and  religion,  and  illustrated 
the  naturalness  of  Christianity  as  the  crown  of  all 
human  evolution ;  but  always  drove  home  to  the  indi- 
vidual his  place  and  duty  in  the  process.  Take  the 
very  remarkable  series  of  addresses  delivered  in  the 
winter  of  1890,  a  summary  of  which  will  be  found  in 
the  Appendix  to  this  volume.  They  start  with  science ; 
but  as  they  go  on,  one  is  impressed  no  less  by  the  ful- 
ness of  the  Gospel  which  is  in  them  than  by  their 
persistent  pressure  upon  the  individual  to  accept 
Christ  and  consecrate  life  to  Him.  It  is  a  seer  who 
speaks,  stimulated  like  the  prophets  of  old  by  the  in- 
tellectual conditions  of  his  own  time  to  a  new  view 
of  the  things  that  are  eternal.  Modern  science  has 
enabled  him  to  view  life  as  a  whole,  and  to  perceive, 
with  an  eye  which,  as  he  tells  you,  he  also  owes, 
partly  to  science,  that  in  the  universe  Christianity  is 
at  once  the  most  natural  and  the  most  sublime  of  facts. 
He  sweeps  before  us,  in  a  magnificent  panorama,  the 
forces  which  have  built  the  world,  developed  the  indi- 
vidual, and  fashioned  human  society,  and  he  relates 
Christianity  to  them  as  their  continuance  and  con- 
summation. But  the  individual  is  made  to  feel  his 
place  in  this  and  his  duty  towards  it.  And  for  all 
those  purposes  the  speaker  excites  not  the  imagina- 
tion only,  but  reason  and  common  sense.  There  is 
no  sensation  in  the  addresses,  nor  any  imposition  of 
authority ;  no  artificiality  nor  false  mysticism ;  but  the 
style  is  as  simple  as  the  thinking;  it  is  one  sensible 
man  talking  to  others  of  his  own  generation. 


352  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1884-94 

In  the  Christianity  which  he  presents  as  the  crown 
of  the  life  of  the  universe,  the  spring  and  cause  is 
Jesus  Christ.  He  is  the  Source  of  all  life  and  light; 
the  assurance  of  the  forgiveness  of  sins;  the  daily 
nourishment  of  the  soul ;  the  one  power  sufficient  for 
a  noble  life ;  the  solution  of  all  problems ;  the  motive 
and  example  of  all  service.  Night  after  night  this 
teacher  shut  up  the  reason  of  his  young  hearers  to  the 
acceptance  and  obedience  of  Christ.  Night  after  night 
he  pleaded  before  their  hearts  God's  love  in  Christ 
and  God's  need  for  them  in  the  life  of  the  world. 
This  is  the  most  striking  feature  of  the  addresses,  and 
next  to  it  is  their  adherence  to  the  Bible  and  Christ's 
own  words,  which  are  expounded  with  a  simplicity  and 
homeliness  that  remind  one  sometimes  of  Luther,  and 
sometimes  of  Robertson  of  Brighton.  And  next  is 
another  feature  which  will  surprise  many  who  did  not 
hear  the  addresses  —  their  loyalty  to  the  Church  and 
to  the  doctrines  of  the  Church.  Church-going,  they 
say,  is  not  Christianity,  and  belief  in  doctrines  is  not 
Christianity,  but  no  sane  man  will  refuse  the  regular 
nourishment  and  strength  of  fellowship  which  church- 
going  supplies ;  and,  as  in  every  department  of  science, 
so  here  also  a  reasonable  mind  will  recognise  that 
there  must  be  doctrines,  and  will  go  for  their  explana- 
tion only  to  their  highest  authorities.  But  description 
of  these  addresses  is  useless  save  to  tempt  the  reader 
of  these  lines  to  study  them  himself.  He  will  find 
them  among  the  best  which  Drummond  ever  achieved. 

Nor  will  he  who  reads  these  addresses  need  to  be 
told  how  ignorant  and  irrelevant  was  the  criticism 
from  which  their  author  suffered.  It  arose,  in  the 
first  instance,  because  he  excluded  all  reporters  from 
the  meetings.  He  adopted  this  policy,  not  from  any 
wish  to  hide  his  teaching,  but  —  apart  from  the  obvi- 


^T.  33-43]  THE   STUDENT   MOVEMENT  353. 

ous  fact  that  the  daily  press  can  give  only  fragmentary, 
and  therefore  to  some  extent  misleading,  reports  of 
long  religious  addresses  —  because  his  mission  was  to 
students  only,  and  he  was  persuaded  that  the  very  per- 
sonal and  sacred  work  which  it  involved  would  thrive 
better  if  kept  to  himself  and  his  audience.  Every  one 
who  is  familiar  with  such  work  can  perceive  the  many 
reasons  for  this.  But  at  the  same  time  it  was  bound 
to  provoke  criticism  and  misunderstanding.  Some  of 
the  misrepresentations  from  which  the  addresses  suf- 
fered were  wilful ;  bits  torn  from  their  context  by  a 
young  prig  or  two  in  his  audience,  and  flung  to  the 
rapacity  of  certain  of  the  lower-class  religious  papers, 
who  followed  the  author  of  Natural  Law  with  an  in- 
satiable suspicion.  Others  were  the  effect  upon  good 
but  unduly  sensitive  minds  of  the  inevitable  distortion 
of  the  half-reported  teaching  of  an  evangelist  with 
unconventional  ways  of  stating  the  truth.  Such 
charges  are  mentioned  here  only  to  emphasise  how 
unfounded  they  now  appear  to  be  in  face  of  the  ad- 
dresses themselves.  And,  in  fact,  when  any  of  Drum- 
mond's  harder  critics  went  to  hear  him,  they  generally 
came  away  disarmed.  The  newspaper  which  attacked 
him  most  persistently  for  his  exclusion  of  reporters 
acknowledged  that  he  had  intelligible  reasons  for  this, 
and  published  at  least  one  candid  appreciation  of  his 
power  by  an  outsider  to  the  work. 

The  following  account  of  the  addresses  has  been 
sent  me  by  one  who  was  a  medical  student  at  Edin- 
burgh from  1888  to  1892,  Mr.  George  Newman,  now 
Lecturer  on  Bacteriology  at  King'^  College,  London, 
and  lately  Warden  of  Chalfont  House  Settlement:  — 

'  The  first  time  I  saw  Professor  Drummond  was  in  the 
winter  time  in  1888.  I  was  a  freshman;  and  though  I  had, 
of  course,  heard  of  him  by  name,  I  had  no  idea  at  all  as  to 

2A 


354  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1884-94 

any  connection  he  had  with  the  University  of  Edinburgh. 
Some  fellow-undergraduate  gave  me  a  card  to  attend  "  a  meet- 
ing for  students  in  the  Oddfellows'  Hall,  to  be  addressed  by 
Professor  Drummond."  It  seemed  only  by  chance  that  I 
went  to  the  meeting.  I  believe  Sir  William  Muir,  the  Princi- 
pal of  the  University,  was  in  the  chair.  There  were  several 
of  the  leading  men  in  the  University  upon  the  platform,  and 
the  room,  which  seats,  I  think,  about  a  thousand,  was  full.  I 
suppose  I  shall  never  forget  —  I  certainly  do  not  wish  to  for- 
get —  the  impression  I  gained  of  Professor  Drummond  that 
night.  He  spoke  with  evident  earnestness,  but  with  marked 
control,  if  not  reserve.  His  whole  bearing  was  calm  and 
collected.  There  were  no  gestures.  Nor  was  there  a  sug- 
gestion of  the  "  preacher  "  —  natural  voice,  natural  demeanour, 
natural  and  dignified  from  beginning  to  the  end.  At  the 
close  of  his  remarks  he  uttered  a  few  words  of  prayer.  A 
hymn  was  sung,  and  the  great  gathering  dispersed  with  pre- 
ternatural quietness  and  decorum.  The  impression  left  on 
my  mind  was  such  as  to  cause  me  to  reflect  upon  what  I  had 
seen  and  heard.  Taken  at  the  very  lowest  estimate,  here  was 
a  disciplinarian  of  no  ordinary  skill.  To  those  who  have  not 
heard  Drummond,  or  have  wondered  at  his  influence,  I  sug- 
gest a  consideration,  viz.,  that  his  methods  were  of  a  rare  kind, 
and  obtained  for  him  a  hearing  which  many  religious  teachers 
never  seem  able  to  secure.  The  matter  of  a  sermon  is  clearly 
of  first  importance,  but  is  it  not  possible  that  great  matter  is 
frequently  spoiled  by  not  being  greatly  uttered  ? 

'  Now,  whilst  in  my  judgment  Drummond  was  not  an  orator, 
he  had  a  most  exceptional  faculty  of  simple,  beautiful,  and 
dignified  expression.  His  style  and  mode  of  procedure 
appealed,  I  think,  to  his  hearers  in  Edinburgh.  He  was 
admittedly  a  tall,  well-built,  handsome  man  —  almost  a  king 
among  men  —  and  no  one  who  has  looked  into  those  eyes 
can  ever  hold  any  other  opinion  than  that  they  were  attrac- 
tive. He  was  rather  particularly  well  and  neatly  dressed. 
These  things,  combined  with  his  skill  of  style,  all  had  their 
influence  upon  his  hearers.  But  there  was  another  character- 
istic which  struck  me  that  night.  I  had  heard  a  real  Teacher. 
Such  are  rare.  Many  professors  in  our  universities  can  no 


/£T.  34-43]  THE   STUDENT  MOVEMENT  355 

more  teach  than  fly !  At  best,  possibly  they  are  crammers 
in.  But  Drummond  educated  men.  He  drew  them  out  — 
and  drew  them  onwards  and  upwards.  His  ideas  may  have 
been,  or  may  not  have  been,  orthodox,  scholastic,  theological, 
scientific  —  but  they  resulted  in  leading  out  a  young  fellow's 
mind.  His  teaching  opened  men's  eyes  —  not  to  wondrous 
doctrines,  but  to  see.  After  a  course  of  Drummond,  men 
began  to  look  about  for  themselves. 

'  A  considerable  experience  of  those  meetings  of  Professor 
Drummond's  only  convinced  me  the  more  that  he  was  a 
Teacher  possessing  an  admirable  style.  But  it  was  not  long 
before  I  learned  of  at  least  two  other  features  which  made 
this  visitor  to  Edinburgh  such  a  power  in  the  University. 
He  held  no  position  whatever  in  the  University.  He  came 
as  "  unofficial  preacher  " ;  but  in  that  capacity  he  had,  in  my 
judgment,  a  greater  and  a  more  lasting  effect  upon  the 
University  at  that  time  than  any  of  the  University  teachers 
themselves.  And  for  a  very  simple  reason.  He  dealt  not 
with  technical  subjects,  but  with  ethics  and  life.  The  Pro- 
fessors of  Divinity  might  be  said  to  be  his  only  competitors. 
But  while  they  spoke  to  small  compulsory  classes  reading 
for  a  degree,  Drummond  spoke  to  the  largest  class  in  the 
University,  and  it  was  a  voluntary  one,  composed  of  students 
in  all  the  Faculties.  Moreover,  he  possessed  his  influence 
very  largely  because  he  went  beneath  the  surface  of  things 
—  beyond  formularies,  creeds,  definitions — to  the  elementary 
questions  of  life  and  conduct.  It  is  true,  such  a  course  led 
him  inevitably  into  controversy  and  misapprehensions,  but  it 
accomplished  that  which  he  desired.  I  should  sum  up  his 
entire  teaching  in  those  meetings  in  one  sentence  from  the 
pen  of  George  Macdonald:  "Life  and  religion  are  one  thing, 
or  neither  is  anything."  Here  was  a  minimum  of  theology 
and  a  maximum  of  simple  common  sense.  How  well  it  acted 
was  proved  by  experience. 

'  For  three  winters,  to  my  personal  knowledge,  these  large 
gatherings  of  students  took  place.  Nor  was  the  effect  imme- 
diately transient.  It  acted  in  a  perceptible  measure  as  the 
salt  of  the  University.  The  foremost  men  in  the  University 
gave  these  meetings  their  support,  and  were  often  present 


356  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1884-94 

themselves.  Lord  Aberdeen  presided  on  several  occasions, 
and  frequently  distinguished  visitors  to  Edinburgh  were 
present.  Otherwise  the  meetings  were  absolutely  limited  to 
matriculated  students.  The  elementary  basis  of  doctrine  — 
if  such  it  is  to  be  called  —  was  of  a  nature  to  bring  men  of 
all  shades  of  religious  feeling,  and  of  "no  religion  at  all," 
together  in  one  hall.  Professor  Drummond  has  frequently 
been  criticised  respecting  the  matter  of  his  addresses  to  the 
students  of  Edinburgh.  Of  that  I  am  not  qualified  to  speak. 
Many  of  those  who  might  be  considered  as  representatives 
of  the  children  of  Israel  were  sore  afraid  that  the  religious 
spirit  of  Evangelism  was  absent.  The  world  of  exact  science 
declared  that  Drummond  was  "unscientific."  In  a  measure 
he  was  guilty  of  both  accusations.  He  was  not,  I  should 
say,  an  evangelical  teacher  in  the  general  acceptation  of  the 
term.  Professor  Masson,  in  an  essay  written,  I  think,  about 
1852,  on  "Scottish  Characteristics,"  selects  finally  as  those 
most  often  found :  (i)  An  intense  spirit  of  nationality;  (2)  the 
habit,  in  thinking,  speaking,  and  writing,  of  laying  emphasis 
upon  certain  points  rather  than  in  co-ordinating  them  into 
one  entirety.  Drummond  erred  —  if  it  be  erring  —  in  the 
latter  of  these  two  characteristics.  He  was  a  philosopher,  yet 
he  has  left  us  no  philosophy.  Like  Jowett  at  Oxford,  though 
in  a  less  degree,  he  individualised  his  creed  and  his  teaching. 
Though  his  entire  contribution  to  religious  thought  has  done 
much  to  co-ordinate,  still  it  must  be  recognised  that  he  had, 
or  thought  he  had,  a  very  definite  part  or  side  of  Truth  to 
enforce.  This  he  did  with  as  great  pertinacity  as  he  declined 
to  speak  to  audiences  outside  those  he  deemed  desirable. 
He  emphasised,  not  to  misplace  or  isolate  Truth,  but  to 
bring  out  the  finer  points,  which  he  felt  were  so  often 
neglected,  because  they  lay  below  the  surface.  The  final 
result  was  a  revealing  of  unity,  co-ordination,  and  adaptation 
in  the  Truth  of  the  Christian  Religion  and  Nature.  Nature 
was  to  Drummond  a  sympathetic  background  to  human  life 
and  the  kindred  revelation  of  a  divine  intelligence.  Most  of 
the  many  misconceptions  of  spirituality  may  be  traced,  as 
T.  H.  Green  of  Balliol  pointed  out,  to  the  notion  that  it  is 
attained  by  eliminating,  leaving  behind,  and  transcending 


^T.  33-43]  THE   STUDENT   MOVEMENT  357 

what  is  natural.  Drummond  believed  and  taught  that,  on 
the  contrary,  the  spirituality  which  was  real,  and  which  would 
stand  the  test  of  time,  was  attained  by  absorbing,  assimilat- 
ing, and  developing  what  was  Natural.  "  Nothing,"  said 
Drummond,  "  can  ever  be  gained  by  setting  one-half  of  Nat- 
ure against  the  other,  or  the  rational  against  the  ultra- 
rational."  That  is  a  fine  quotation  —  the  whole  of  it,  in  my 
judgment,  absolutely  representative  of  Drummond's  best 
thought  and  contribution.  Seeley  declared  for  Natural  Re- 
ligion :  Drummond  demanded  that  religion  should  be  natural. 

'  As  I  have  said,  his  whole  tenor  of  thought  inevitably  led 
him  into  differences  with  the  exact  sciences.  He  was  above 
everything  else  the  Poet  of  Science.  And  the  general  run  of 
exact  scientific  men  have  little  or  nothing  to  do  with  poetry. 
I  imagine  Drummond  has  left  comparatively  little  original 
work  behind  him.  He  interpreted  the  Ethics  of  Nature  rather 
than  investigated  new  matter. 

'From  what  I  have  said,  you  will  gather  that  I  think 
Drummond's  immense  influence  was  due  to  solid  reasons,  and 
neither  ephemeral  nor  superficial.  The  reasons  were  three  : 
(i)  His  style  and  methods ;  (2)  his  power  of  teaching;  (3)  his 
creed.  But  more,  I  think,  than  all  these,  and  inspiring  them 
all,  was  his  own  personality  and  pure  spirit.  He  practised, 
so  far  as  we  could  judge,  what  he  preached.  His  life  was 
the  home  of  fair  visions  and  noble  thoughts  and  courteous, 
kindly  deeds.  He  seemed  to  many  of  us  to  be  removed  from 
the  sordidness  of  life. 

'  After  my  first  experience  I  saw  a  great  deal  of  him,  and 
had  the  delight  of  being  of  some  little  use  in  the  furtherance 
of  his  work  at  Edinburgh.  Of  this  he  often  spoke,  and  any 
little  service  done  for  him  was  amply  repaid  by  his  gratitude 
and  appreciation.  He  was  not  a  frequent  correspondent,  but 
his  letters  were  admirable,  and  contained  much  helpful  and 
wise  advice.  My  time  in  Edinburgh  was  certainly  a  very 
happy  one.  But  I  learned  to  measure  many  things  as  but 
poor  and  common  compared  with  our  friendship.  It  was  the 
most  precious  thing  I  found  during  my  course.  Nor  was  I 
alone  in  this  experience.  I  remember  not  a  few  who  shared 
it.  Drummond  was  prepared  to  take  almost  endless  trouble 


HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1884-94 

with  men  who  desired  his  help.  "  After-meetings,"  I  think, 
he  disliked  as  strongly  as  some  of  us  did.  But  if  a  man  wished 
to  see  Drummond  privately  and  have  a  talk  with  him,  he  was 
always  ready.  Indeed,  he  would  come  through  from  Glasgow 
on  a  week-day  simply  to  see  a  man  who  desired  his  help. 
Few  teachers  have  ever  had  such  confidences  bestowed  in 
them  as  Drummond,  and  yet  he  was  strangely  reserved  as 
regards  his  own  heart.  He  would  not  be  drawn  just  by 
anybody  at  any  time.  He  was  fastidious  to  a  degree  in  all 
spiritual  matters.  His  taste  was  the  essence  of  refinement. 

'  The  last  walk  we  had  together  was  along  Princes  Street 
and  towards  the  Dean  Bridge.  It  was  a  Sunday  night  at  the 
end  of  term  in  1892,  and  we  discussed  amongst  other  things 
his  meetings  during  the  four  years.  He  spoke  very  modestly 
of  his  share  in  them,  though,  of  course,  his  share  was  every- 
thing. 

'  I  loved  him  with  all  my  heart  and  soul  and  mind  —  I  think 
1  have  never  loved  any  man  so  much,  so  strongly,  so  con- 
tinuously. I  have  never  seen  in  any  man  so  much  that  was 
admirable  —  for  he  seemed  to  possess  all  the  graces  and 
virtues  of  which  as  perfect  man  I  dreamed.' 

As  in  his  mission  in  1873-75,  so  m  this  work  among 
the  students  it  was  not  so  much  the  addresses  them- 
selves which  told,  as  the  personal  intercourse  with 
hundreds  of  young  men  to  which  they  formed  the 
introduction.  One  who  heard  Drummond  through 
several  years  of  the  students'  movements  said  there 
was  one  power  which  distinguished  him  beyond  every 
other  preacher  to  men,  and  that  was  the  power  of  so 
speaking  as  invariably  to  move  from  one  to  two  hun- 
dred of  his  audience  of  seven  or  eight  hundred  —  not 
merely  to  stay  to  an  after-meeting,  but  to  talk  with 
him  one  by  one  and  face  to  face.  This  power  never 
failed  him  with  the  students,  and  it  was  by  it  he  left 
an  abiding  mark  on  many  hundreds  of  lives. 

What  it  cost  him  he  alone  could  tell,  and  even  his 
closest  friends  during  those  years  had  only  glimpses  of 


^T.  33-43]  THE  STUDENT   MOVEMENT  359 

the  labour,  the  thought,  and  the  anxiety  which  it  en- 
tailed. In  mere  talk  or  writing,  that  take  up  time,  it 
occupied  him  for  a  part  of  every  day  during  the  winter 
session.  To  deal  with  a  single  case  he  would  come 
through  from  Glasgow  to  Edinburgh  for  an  afternoon. 
On  Saturdays,  when  he  was  free,  he  arrived  in  the 
morning  and  spent  several  hours  fulfilling  appoint- 
ments with  men.  And  on  Sunday,  after  the  meeting 
was  over,  he  would  talk  with  one  and  another  far  on 
into  the  night,  in  the  Hall,  on  the  winter  streets,  or  in 
his  lodgings.  One  of  his  hosts  tells  me  that  after 
having  worked  all  night  with  men  in  trouble,  he  came 
in  to  breakfast  on  Monday  morning,  fresh  and  happy 
as  any  round  the  table,  and  was  off  to  Glasgow  before 
they  knew  what  he  had  been  doing.  That  must  have 
been  a  night  when  men  were  given  to  him  for  his  hire, 
and  God's  grace  was  so  evident  as  to  be  meat  and 
drink  to  him.  But  there  were  other  times  at  which 
the  confessions  of  some  of  the  men  and  his  disappoint- 
ments with  them  strained  and  wore  him  out.  One, 
with  whom  he  stayed  over  a  Sunday,  writes  as  fol- 
lows:— 

1  One  Sunday  evening  we  were  having  prayers  when 
he  returned.  I  did  not  know  that  he  was  in,  and  went 
down  to  the  dining-room  to  see  if  the  soup  was  ready 
and  hot  for  him.  (He  laughingly  called  our  house  the 
"  Sign  of  the  Ox-tail.")  I  found  him  there  leaning 
with  his  head  bowed  on  the  mantelpiece,  looking  into 
the  fire.  He  raised  a  haggard,  worn  face  when  I  spoke 
to  him,  and  I  made  him  take  a  glass  of  wine,  and  asked 
him  if  he  were  very  tired.  "  No,"  he  said,  "  not  very. 
But  oh,  I  am  sick  with  the  sins  of  these  men!  How 
can  God  bear  it  ?  " ' 


360  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1884-94 

If  his  experiences  that  night  were  the  same  as  were 
sent  to  him  in  a  large  number  of  letters,  anonymous 
and  signed,  then  one  cannot  wonder  that  coming  forth 
from  the  living  face  and  eyes  they  stunned  and  sick- 
ened him.  He  has  kept  letters  with  strange  and  awful 
stories  of  sin,  told  for  the  most  part  in  utter  despair. 
Some  are  from  men  who  have  fallen  once,  and  cry  for 
his  quick  hand  to  lift  them.  Some  are  from  those 
whom  he  has  befriended  before,  and  perhaps  shep- 
herded for  a  time,  but  away  from  him  they  have 
yielded. 

1 1  suppose  you  will  be  coming  to  Edinburgh  for  Sunday. 
If  you  are  not  specially  engaged  and  would  come  through 
early,  I  should  be  very  glad.  .  .  .  The  winter  before  last  I 
was  always  at  your  meetings,  and  a  year  last  Easter  was  on 
deputation.  Now  I  am  off  the  mark  and  fully  aware  that 
things  cannot  go  on  this  way  much  longer.  A  talk  quietly 
with  you  might  do  good  and  help  me.' 

There  are  many  letters  like  that. 

'  DEAR  SIR,  —  Can  you  tell  me  what  will  help  me  in  the 
first  second  succeeding  moral  defeat  and  the  consciousness 
of  it  ?  What,  when  we  have  but  a  moment  to  think  before 
plunging  into  the  next  bit  of  work  that  lies  to  our  hand,  will 
save  us  from  losing  heart  at  the  consciousness  of  our  weak- 
ness and  giving  way  to  a  feeling  that  it  is  useless  to  prolong 
a  struggle  which  can  only  end  in  our  total  defeat  ?  I  have 
found  that  the  first  moment  of  defeat  is  the  crucial  instant 
determining  whether  it  is  to  be  a  stumble  from  which  we  shall 
recover,  or  whether  it  is  to  usher  in  a  period  longer  or  shorter 
of  listlessness  and  wasted  opportunities.  I  feel  certain  there 
must  be  some  way  of  doing  right  at  every  instant  independent 
of  the  Tightness  or  wrongness  of  previous  acts.  Can  you  help 
me  and  possibly  others  ?  —  I  am  yours  expectantly, 

'VICTOR  S^EPE  VICTUS.' 

'  DEAR  PROFESSOR  DRUMMOND,  —  I  was  at  your  meeting 
to-night,  and  was  also  present  at  your  after-meeting.  I  may 


Mr.  33-43]  THE   STUDENT   MOVEMENT  361 

say  that  I  am  a  member  of 's  church.  .  .  .  When  a  fel- 
low leaves  home  he  finds  it  pretty  hard  work  to  keep  straight 
sometimes,  and  I  frankly  say  I  have  come  to  grief  since  I 
came  to  Edinburgh.  I  have  been  trying  for  some  time  back 
to  live  a  better  life  and  be  more  like  Christ.  I  am  taking 
advantage  of  your  offer  to  give  us  advice.' 

'  DEAR  SIR,  —  How  past  sins  are  to  be  blotted  out  is  a 
matter  of  special  difficulty  to  those  who  enter  upon  the  Chris- 
tian life,  leaving  a  dissolute  career  behind  them.  The  usual 
method  of  meeting  this  difficulty  is  that  of  the  Atonement. 
Some  perplexity  has  been  caused  through  your  making  no 
reference  to  this,  and  it  is  felt  that  you  would  render  a  great 
service  by  elucidating  the  matter.  If  convenient,  would  you 
kindly  refer  to  the  subject  this  evening? — Yours  respectfully, 

'  A  STUDENT.' 

'  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  have  been  attending  your  Students'  meet- 
ings for  some  time,  and  am  now  resolved  to  follow  Jesus 
Christ.  But  my  past  life  has  been  a  very  wild  and  sinful  one, 
and  I  want  to  know  how  I  am  to  regard  the  past.  What 
assurance  may  I  have  that  the  past  is  forgiven  ?  Do  you 
believe  in  the  Atonement  of  Christ  ? ' 

This  last  letter  Drummond  'read  to  the  meeting, 
and,  laying  it  down,  declared  his  unequivocal  faith  in 
the  efficacy  of  Christ's  Atonement.  That  Atonement 
(he  said)  furnished  the  ground  and  assurance  of  the 
forgiveness  of  sins.  There  were  many  theories  of  the 
rationale  of  that  doctrine ;  and  he  would  not  venture 
there  to  offer  any  theory  of  his  own,  but  he  took  the 
opportunity  of  magnifying  the  Atonement  as  one  of 
the  central  facts  of  Christianity.'1 

Another  sends  the  following :  — 

'  I  recollect  particularly  well  an  answer  he  gave  once  in 
private  conversation  to  the  question,  "  Do  you  believe  that  the 
sacrifice  of  Christ  is  the  essential  and  basal  thing  in  the  Chris- 
tian religion  ? "  The  interrogator  desired  an  answer,  Yes  or 

1  From  a  student  who  was  present  at  the  meeting. 


362  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1884-94 

No.  It  was  at  a  time  when  Drummond's  position  was  being 
assailed  from  almost  every  quarter.  I  shall  not  soon  forget 
the  slow,  deliberate  reply:  "Then  my  answer  must  be  No." 
The  questioner  remarked  that  it  was  satisfactory  to  have  such 
a  plain  answer.  But  there  was  in  store  for  him  something 
which  probably  made  matters  plainer  still :  "  If  I  may  venture 
a  supplementary  remark,"  said  Drummond,  "  I  would  say  that 
in  my  opinion  the  sacrifice  of  Christ  is  a  part  of  the  very 
essence  of  Christianity,  but  the  basis  of  Christianity  is  the 
eternal  love  of  God."  ' 

I  have  been  told  by  those  who  assisted  Drummond 
at  the  after-meetings,  that  you  could  not  know  him  till 
you  saw  how  he  pleaded  there  with  groups  of  men,  and 
still  more  with  individuals.  He  was  very  straight; 
and  God's  forgiveness  made  sure  in  Jesus  Christ  was 
what  he  pressed  home,  with  all  the  simplicity  of  Script- 
ure itself,  upon  the  men  whom  he  found  convinced  of 
guilt.  Yet  he  used  to  say  that  it  was  not  to  the  sense 
of  guilt  he  could  most  powerfully  appeal,  nor  did  he 
believe  that  such  an  appeal  was  the  most  suitable  to 
make  to  a  meeting  of  young  men.  Indeed,  the  secret 
of  his  large  area  of  power  was  his  recognition  of  the 
enormous  variety  of  religious  difficulty  and  of  moral 
trouble  which  beset  the  young  men  of  his  time.  He 
took  these  as  he  found  them,  and  shaped  the  begin- 
nings of  his  gospel  to  suit  their  experiences,  their 
ideals,  their  lines  of  study  and  of  recreation.  But  the 
end  was  One,  and  Christ  stood  at  it.  For  every  man 
the  thing  needful  was  surrender  to  Him,  and  the  begin- 
ning of  a  life  of  service  in  His  Spirit. 

These  labours  and  anxieties  brought  their  own 
reward.  It  came  not  only  in  the  undiminished  meet- 
ings, — '  I  would  not  give  up  my  audience  in  Odd- 
fellows' Hall  for  anything  in  the  world,'  —  but  in  the 
more  precious  acknowledgment  by  one  man  after  an- 


<**.  33-43]  THE  STUDENT   MOVEMENT  363 

other  that  he  had  been  turned  from  evil,  lifted  to  self- 
control,  and  was  happy  in  serving  Christ. 

What  sheaves  of  such  tributes  he  got,  and  yet  so 
seldom  spoke  of  them !  I  cannot  imagine  documents 
of  the  kind  more  honest  or  reserved. 

'  I  think  it  my  duty  to  tell  you  (after  my  request  last  week) 
that  I  have  this  week  benefited  by  your  address,  and  feel  sure 
that  you  have  prayed  for  me.  This  week  has  been  one  of 
victory  and  strength  unknown  to  me  for  years.  ...  —  Ever 
gratefully  yours,  'A  STUDENT.' 

'  Up  till  Sunday,  and  for  some  time  past,  I  felt  myself  drift- 
ing ;  but  the  wonderful  things  I  heard  last  night,  and  particu- 
larly your  words,  have  done  me  a  great  deal  of  good.  I  can 
again  enjoy  communion  with  God  and  my  Saviour,  and  that  I 
know  that  I  work  not  for  myself  but  for  Him  fills  my  heart 
with  joy.  I  feel  assured  that  last  night's  meeting  has  given 
courage  to  many.  —  Yours  sincerely,  '  L.' 

These  are  like  a  great  number  from  men  whom  he 
did  not  know,  and  with  whom  he  had  not  spoken. 
But  very  many  others  he  did  know,  and,  step  by  step, 
helped  from  sin  or  from  doubt  to  stability  of  faith  and 
conduct,  which  so  long  as  he  lived  he  had  the  joy  of 
seeing  unshaken  among  the  real  troubles  of  life,  and 
frequently  upon  high  positions  of  responsibility  and 
influence. 

'  SIR,  —  Some  years  ago  I  gave  my  heart  to  my  Saviour, 
yet  I  have  not  followed  Him  as  I  ought.  It  seemed  to  me  as 
you  spoke  as  if  I  had  taken  it  back  again,  and  soiled  it  with 
sins  unmentionable.  But  I  thank  and  praise  Him  that  through 
you  I  have  been  enabled  by  His  great  unspeakable  grace  to 
say  "Lord,  I  come."  Will  you  pray  for  me  that  I  may  be 
kept  from  falling,  and  that  I  may  sit  humbly  at  His  feet  and 
learn  of  Him  ?  God  knows,  if  any  ought  to  be  humble  I 
should.' 


364  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1884-94 

'  DEAR  PROFESSOR  DRUMMOND,  —  Though  I  did  not  succeed 
in  getting  through  my  "  second,"  I  feel  it  has  not  been  alto- 
gether a  failure.  As  a  practical  result,  my  getting  through 
three  has  been  more  than  I  expected  or  deserved ;  but,  apart 
from  that,  it  has  given  me  more  hope  for  the  future,  as  I  look 
back  upon  the  last  two  months.  It  has  taught  me  that  I  can 
still  do  work,  if  only  I  apply  myself,  though  it  was  very 
difficult  at  times.  (You  know  of  my  outbreak.)  A  very 
helpful  influence  to  me  in  my  struggle  has  been  yours,  sir, 

and  that  of  Dr. .    I  write  to-night  to  tell  you  that  I  thank 

you  from  the  bottom  of  my  heart  for  your  great  kindness  to 
one  who  was  not  only  a  stranger,  but  even  almost  a  foreigner. 
I  hope  and  trust  that  the  tide  has  now  turned  with  me,  and 
that  I  shall  yet  be  a  useful  member  of  society.  I  begin  to 
realise  how  nearly  I  had  become  a  perfect  wreck ;  in  a  great 
measure  I  owe  my  escape  to  your  personal  influence.' 

One  of  the  finest  features  of  the  movement,  how- 
ever, was  the  large  number  of  the  men  affected  by  it 
who  set  themselves,  often  at  great  sacrifice,  to  win 
their  fellow-students  for  Christ.  Here  is  an  instance 
which  Drummond  himself  told  at  a  students'  meeting 
in  America:  — 

'  One  night  I  got  a  letter  from  one  of  the  students 
of  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  page  after  page 
of  agnosticism  and  atheism.  I  went  over  to  see 
him,  and  spent  a  whole  afternoon  with  him,  and 
did  not  make  the  slightest  impression.  At  Edin- 
burgh University  we  have  a  Students'  Evange- 
listic Meeting  on  Sunday  nights,  at  which  there 
are  eight  hundred  or  one  thousand  men  present. 
A  few  nights  after  this,  I  saw  that  man  in  the 
meeting,  and  next  to  him  sat  another  man  whom 
I  had  seen  occasionally  at  the  meetings.  I  did 
not  know  his  name,  but  I  wanted  to  find  out 
more  about  my  sceptic,  so  when  the  meeting  was 
over,  I  went  up  to  him  and  said, "  Do  you  happen 


33-43]  THE   STUDENT   MOVEMENT  365 

to  know ? "  —  "  Yes,"  he   replied,   "  it  is  he 

that  has  brought  me  to  Edinburgh."  —  "  Are  you 
an  old  friend  ?  "  I  asked.  —  "I  am  an  American, 
a  graduate  of  an  American  University,"  he  said. 
"  After  I  had  finished  there  I  wanted  to  take  a 
post-graduate  course,  and  finally  decided  to  come 
to  Edinburgh.  In  the  dissecting-room  I  hap- 
pened to  be  placed  next  to ,  and  I  took  a 

singular  liking  for  him.  I  found  out  that  he  was 
a  man  of  very  remarkable  ability,  though  not  a 
religious  man,  and  I  thought  I  might  be  able  to 
do  something  for  him.  A  year  passed  and  he 
was  just  where  I  found  him."  He  certainly  was 
blind  enough,  because  it  was  only  two  or  three 
weeks  before  that  that  he  wrote  me  that  letter. 
"  I  think  you  said,"  I  resumed,  "  that  you  only 
came  here  to  take  a  year  of  the  post-graduate 
course."  —  "  Well,"  he  said,  "  I  packed  my  trunks 
to  go  home,  and  I  thought  of  this  friend,  and  I 
wondered  whether  a  year  of  my  life  would  be 
better  spent  to  go  and  start  in  my  profession  in 
America,  or  to  stay  in  Edinburgh  and  try  to  win 
that  one  man  for  Christ,  and  I  stayed."  — "  Well," 
I  said,  "  my  dear  fellow,  it  will  pay  you ;  you  will 
get  that  man."  Two  or  three  months  passed,  and 
it  came  to  the  last  night  of  our  meetings.  We 
have  men  in  Edinburgh  from  every  part  of  the 
world.  Every  year,  five  or  six  hundred  of  them 
go  out  never  to  meet  again,  and  in  our  religious 
work  we  get  very  close  to  one  another,  and  on 
the  last  night  of  the  year  we  sit  down  together  in 
our  common  hall  to  the  Lord's  Supper.  This  is 
entirely  a  students'  meeting.  On  that  night  we 
get  in  the  members  of  the  Theological  Faculty, 
so  that  things  may  be  done  decently  and  in  order. 


366  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1884-94 

Hundreds  of  men  are  there,  the  cream  of  the 
youth  of  the  world,  sitting  down  at  the  Lord's 
table.  Many  of  them  are  not  members  of  the 
Church,  but  are  there  for  the  first  time  pledging 
themselves  to  become  members  of  the  Kingdom 

of  God.     I  saw sitting  down  and  handing 

the  communion  cup  to  his  American  friend.  He 
had  got  his  man.  A  week  after  he  was  back  in 
his  own  country.  I  do  not  know  his  name ;  he 
made  no  impression  in  our  country,  nobody  knew 
him.  He  was  a  subject  of  Christ's  kingdom, 
doing  His  work  in  silence  and  in  humility.  A 

few  weeks  passed  and came  to  see  me.     I 

said,  "  What  do  you  come  here  for?  " —  He  said, 
"  I  want  to  tell  you  I  am  going  to  be  a  medical 
missionary."  It  was  worth  a  year,  was  it  not  ? ' 

One  of  the  letters  quoted  above  strikes  a  note  which 
was  a  very  strong  feature  of  Drummond's  mission. 
He  recognised  that  the  first  duty  of  his  converts  was 
to  the  University  itself  and  to  their  studies.  There 
was  an  entire  exclusion  of  the  romance,  the  sentimen- 
talism,  the  vague  philanthropies,  the  short  cuts  to  in- 
fluence and  fame,  which  often  so  seriously  hurt  work 
among  students.  The  business  in  hand  —  the  class- 
work,  the  examinations,  the  science  or  profession  for 
which  they  were  studying  —  was  pressed  upon  all  as 
their  first  duty.  In  this,  too,  the  leaders  of  the  move- 
ment, the  secretaries,  the  committee  and  the  most 
prominent  workers,  set  a  noble  example.  Many  of 
them  were  the  first  men  of  their  years.  All  round, 
the  honours  lists  showed,  as  was  right,  the  first-fruits 
of  the  mission. 

How  has  it  gone  since  ?  How  have  '  Drummond's 
men  '  stood  the  world  ?  In  nearly  every  town  of  our 


^T.  33-43]  THE  STUDENT   MOVEMENT  367 

country,  in  every  British  colony,  in  India,  in  China, 
in  Japan,  converts  or  disciples  of  this  movement,  who 
gratefully  trace  to  it  the  beginnings  of  their  moral 
power,  are  labouring  steadfastly,  and  often  brilliantly, 
in  every  profession  of  life. 

If  any  have  grown  indifferent,  if  any  have  fallen, 
should  the  story  of  those  great  days  come  into  their 
hands,  may  it  rouse  the  memory  within  them  of  what 
they  then  owned,  of  what  they  then  found  themselves 
capable  of.  And  let  them  be  assured,  that  if  sins  have 
fallen  on  them  since,  the  same  Grace  which  Henry 
Drummond  then  pleaded  to  their  hearts  is  theirs  still, 
if  with  all  their  hearts  they  turn  and  seek  it. 


CHAPTER   XIII 

THE  AMERICAN   COLLEGES  — 1887 

FOR  some  years  various  persons  and  institutions  in 
America  had  been  inviting  Drummond  to  cross  the 
Atlantic.  Mr.  Moody  was  urgent  that  he  should  join 
him  in  such  a  general  mission  as  they  had  accom- 
plished together  in  1873-75.  But  Drummond,  as 
we  have  seen,  was  concentrating  his  energies  upon 
students.  About  1885  Mr.  Moody,  too,  began  to 
specialise  in  the  same  direction.  At  Northfield, 
Massachusetts,  he  had  built  a  number  of  institutions 
for  the  discipline  of  young  men  and  women  in  various 
forms  of  Christian  service;  and  in  the  spring  of  1887 
he  invited  Drummond  there  to  a  Conference  of  Stu- 
dents. Drummond  agreed  to  go  to  Northfield  as  well 
as  to  certain  '  summer  schools '  of  Chautauqua  and 
elsewhere.  On  the  i  ith  of  June  he  sailed  from  Liver- 
pool, and  reached  New  York  on  the  i8th. 

He  had  scarcely  landed  before  requests  for  lectures 
and  addresses  poured  in  upon  him  from  all  sides. 
The  American  Association  for  the  Advancement  of 
Science ;  the  Presidents  of  many  universities  and  col- 
leges —  beginning  with  Dr.  M'Cosh  of  Princeton,  Dr. 
Dwight  of  Yale,  Dr.  Oilman  of  Johns  Hopkins,  Dr. 
Grant  of  Kingston,  and  Sir  Daniel  Wilson  of  Mon- 
treal ;  scholars  like  Dr.  Bissell  of  Hartford,  and  Dr. 
Rendel  Harris  of  Haverford ;  literary  men  like  Mr. 
George  Cable ;  the  Christian  Associations  of  many 
universities;  the  International  Committee  of  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  ;  besides  the  host 

368 


J&r.  35]  THE  AMERICAN  COLLEGES  369 

of  '  Lecturing  Bureaus,'  '  Societies  of  Inquiry,'  '  Insti- 
tutes of  Christian  Philosophy,'  Women's  Clubs, 
Pastors'  Associations,  and  Societies  of  Teachers  — 
begged  him  to  give  them  either  single  lectures  or  a 
series  of  addresses. 

He  might  have  spent  a  couple  of  years  on  the 
Continent,  and  made  a  fortune  by  lecturing.  But  he 
saw  the  opportunity  of  extending  to  the  American 
Colleges  the  religious  movement  which  he  had  started 
among  the  Edinburgh  students,  and,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  a  couple  of  visits  to  '  summer  schools,'  he 
resolved  to  confine  himself  to  this  great  work.  He 
made  arrangements  for  a  strong  deputation  to  come 
over  from  Edinburgh  and  commence  a  mission  to  the 
colleges  so  soon  as  these  opened  in  September,  and 
accepted  pecuniary  engagements  only  so  far  as  to 
cover  his  travelling  expenses  for  the  next  four  months. 
The  few  purely  scientific  lectures  which  he  gave  were 
also  undertaken  by  him  solely  for  the  purpose  of 
furthering  his  influence  as  a  religious  teacher. 

To  the  lecturer  or  preacher  from  Great  Britain, 
America  presents  a  width  of  area,  an  urgency  of 
demand,  and  a  wealth  of  organisation  which  are 
simply  amazing  after  his  experience  of  the  insular 
opportunities  and  somewhat  sluggish  conservatism  of 
his  own  country.  It  is  not  only  the  enormous  popu- 
lation —  nearly  seventy  millions  —  speaking  the  Eng- 
lish language,  nor  the  hunger  for  knowledge  which  a 
young  people,  hitherto  engrossed  in  the  material 
development  of  their  vast  continent,  so  naturally  show, 
nor  the  religious  freedom  which  welcomes  a  strong 
man  for  his  own  sake  without  asking  what  denomina- 
tion he  belongs  to.  But  all  these  lavish  opportunities 
have  been  as  lavishly  organised  by  the  present  genera- 
tion of  American  people. 

2B 


37O  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1887 

The  curriculum  of  the  Universities  includes  oppor- 
tunity for  lectures  from  '  visiting  Professors,'  experts 
in  various  sciences  and  literatures  from  all  parts  of 
the  world.  In  every  University  there  are  at  least  a 
few,  and  often  many,  such  lectureships.  'University 
Extension,'  too,  has  reached  enormous  dimensions  in 
the  United  States.  Besides  the  Summer  Course  which 
Chicago  University  —  that  never  shuts  its  doors  from 
one  year's  end  to  the  other  —  provides  for  clergymen, 
teachers,  and  other  adult  men  and  women,  anxious  to 
complete  an  imperfect  education,  there  are  the  great 
summer  schools,  camp-meetings  in  excelsis,  to  which 
thousands  of  people  gather  at  some  healthy  and  beau- 
tiful spot  to  attend  regular  courses  of  instruction  from 
experts  in  all  branches  of  a  school  and  university  edu- 
cation. At  Chautauqua,  for  instance,  for  two  months 
every  year,  a  small  town  of  tents,  wooden  lodging- 
houses,  and  a  large  hotel  is  inhabited  by  seven  or  eight 
thousand  people,  and  you  will  find  among  them  whole 
families,  each  of  the  members  of  which  seeks  instruc- 
tion in  some  subject  suited  to  his  or  her  age ;  groups 
of  men  and  women  students  from  many  colleges,  a 
large  number  of  whom  pay  for  their  education  by  act- 
ing as  waiters  or  servants  in  the  hotel  and  lodging- 
houses  ;  and  a  whole  host  of  teachers,  shopkeepers, 
tradesmen,  and  others,  who  will  carry  away  the  good 
seed  they  get  from  many  of  the  best  minds  of  their 
generation,  and  sow  it  again  in  every  state  and  territory 
of  the  Union.  And  besides  all  these  concentrations 
of  intellectual  opportunity,  there  are  in  every  town  the 
lyceums  and  lecture  associations,  which  attract  a  peo- 
ple busy  with  the  practical  problems  of  life,  yet  alive 
to  the  necessity  of  culture,  to  listen  in  crowds,  and 
with  an  eagerness  for  information  that  to  the  lecturer 
who  is  blessed  with  the  privilege  of  imparting  it  is  one 


^Ex.  35]  THE  AMERICAN  COLLEGES  371 

of  the  greatest  inspirations  which  life  can  afford.  Of 
these  things  Drummond  used  to  speak  with  enthusiasm. 
It  was  a  frequent  saying  of  his  that  '  for  one  man  you 
can  help  by  lecturing  in  Great  Britain,  you  can  help 
twelve  or  twenty  in  America.' 

'NORTHFIELD,  MASS.,  June  28. 

'  It  is  a  great  chance  this  Conference  —  five  hundred 
students  from  over  eighty  different  colleges.' 

'July  I. 

4 1  am  tearing  away  here  at  American  speed.  Al- 
ready I  have  been  asked  to  become  principal  of 
a  college,  ditto  of  another  college,  to  write  for 
various  papers,  to  lecture  in  half  the  states  of  the 
Union,  and  otherwise  to  line  my  pocket  with 
dollars.  But  I  have  refused  all  wiles,  and  am 
plodding  along  at  Moody's,  with  lots  to  do  and 
lots  to  enjoy.  The  hardest  thing  is  the  heat. 
Northfield  is  like  Crieff  without  the  high  moun- 
tains, but  with  a  bigger  river  and  more  timber. 
It  is  very  beautiful,  and  Moody  is  as  grand  as 
ever.  To  see  him  at  home  is  a  sight.  He  is 
simply  a  farmer,  running  messages,  going  for  the 
cream  and  the  beefsteak  for  dinner,  and  so  on. 
Hundreds  of  students  have  now  come,  many  in 
tents  all  over  the  place.  Two  are  from  Cambridge, 
England.' 

After  his  work  at  Northfield,  Drummond  spent  a 
few  days  at  Niagara  with  Lord  and  Lady  Aberdeen 
on  their  way  home  from  India.  Then  he  went  to  two 
summer  schools. 


372  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1887 

To  Lady  Aberdeen 

<S.  FRAMINGHAM,  MASS.,  July  21. 

'  I  hope  this  will  find  you  safe  and  well  in  port  once 
more  —  very  thankful  that  it  has  all  come  to  an 
end.  It  has  been  a  wonderful  episode  !  Yet  how 
quickly  it  becomes  dreamland  again ;  and  one 
picks  up  the  threads  of  real  life  once  more  just 
where  they  were  dropped.  I  cannot  believe  I 
really  saw  you  and  A.  here.  It  was  so  short  and 
sudden,  and  you  passed  away  like  a  weaver's  shut- 
tle. I  spent  the  Sunday  at  Newport,  and  often 
looked  over  the  Atlantic  and  thought  of  the  ser- 
vice, and  hoped  and  wished  all  would  go  well. 

'  On  Monday  I  came  here,  and  I  now  write  in  the 
open  air,  while  Principal  Fairbairn  of  Oxford  is 
lecturing  to  two  thousand  people  about  Ancient 
Religions,  and  imagines  I  am  taking  wise  notes 
about  Buddha  and  Confucius  while  I  am  scrib- 
bling this.  Dr.  Fairbairn  is  the  only  one  I  know 
here.  I  fancy  you  know  some  of  his  books,  which 
are  very  fresh  and  able. 

'  I  cannot  begin  to  describe  this  place.  It  is  one  of 
a  dozen  Chautauquas,  the  oldest  and  biggest  of 
the  family,  after  the  great  mother  which. I  visit 
next  week.  Imagine  seventy  acres  of  forest,  with 
a  hundred  cottages  and  endless  tents  buried  among 
the  trees,  a  lake,  an  orchestra,  a  vast  auditorium, 
and  halls  and  buildings  innumerable.  This  spot 
is  tenanted  for  ten  days  every  year  by  from  three 
to  six  thousand  people,  who  are  all  busy  educating 
themselves.  The  vast  majority  are  young  women, 
especially  those  of  a  certain  age,  but  there  are 
many  old  people,  entire  families,  teachers,  clergy- 
men, etc.,  etc.  Their  appetite  for  lectures  is  in- 


T.  35]  THE  AMERICAN  COLLEGES  373 

satiable,  and  from  six  in  the  morning  till  nearly 
midnight  there  are  meetings  all  over  the  grounds, 
and  talks  and  discussions  on  every  conceivable 
subject.  I  have  an  impromptu  meeting  each 
morning  at  eight  for  "  religious  talks,"  and  I  have 
prepared  and  discharged  all  the  worst  bombshells 
I  could  think  of.  There  is  much  heat  here,  but 
no  light.  The  Pharisees  are  down  on  one  of 
course,  but  the  Barbarians  show  me  no  little  kind- 
ness. On  the  whole,  it  is  a  good  thing  this 
Chautauqua,  but  withal  it  is  a  bit  of  a  rabble,  and 
to-morrow  I  am  going  to  steal  away  back  to 
Niagara  for  a  quiet  Sunday  and  —  a  cigarette. 
On  Tuesday  I  go  to  the  parent  Chautauqua  for  a 
few  days,  then  back  to  "  call  "  on  Moody,  and  then 
to  the  Science  Congress  —  the  American  "  British 
Association  "  —  which  meets  at  New  York.' 

To  his  Father  and  Mother 

1  CHAUTAUQUA,  July  28. 

'  All  goes  well.  I  am  having  lots  of  work  and  long, 
long  journeys  in  the  great  country.  Sabbath  last 
I  spent  at  Niagara  alone.  This  is  my  third  pil- 
grimage to  it,  and  it  gets  better  every  time.  Chau- 
tauqua is  a  wonderful  place.  I  think  I  shall  write 
an  article  about  it,  and  tell  you  and  the  British 
public  how  the  Americans  are  trying  to  educate 
themselves.  I  have  lectured  already  to-day  to  a 
vast  audience,  and  am  "  on  "  in  half  an  hour  again  ; 
subject,  "  Nature  and  Religion."  I  have  been 
"  interviewed "  several  times,  but  some  of  the 
accounts  I  have  never  seen,  and  others  are  so 
absurd  that  I  have  been  ashamed  to  send  them  to 
you.  .  .  .  My  next  move  will  be  back  to  Moody. 


374  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1887 

He  has  another  big  Conference  on  hand  for  the 
first  eleven  days  of  August' 

'CLIFTON  SPRINGS,  N.Y.,  August  3. 

'  I  had  two  glorious  days  at  Niagara,  then  endless 
meetings  for  a  week  at  Chautauqua,  which  is 
really  a  fine  thing;  then  a  day  or  two  at  a  vast 
summer  hotel  and  sanatorium,  where  also  I  have 
been  let  in  for  meeting  after  meeting,  and  to-night 
I  go  back  to  Moody. 

*  I  do  not  think  I  have  ever  had  such  meetings  in 
my  life  as  I  have  had  here.  Marvellous  opportu- 
nities have  been  open  on  every  side,  and  I  never 
felt  so  charged  with  a  message.  Hundreds  of 
ministers  have  been  coming,  some  to  entangle 
one  in  their  talk,  like  the  Pharisees,  but  more  to 
learn  what  poor  things  I  could  give  them.  I 
must  tell  you  about  it  all  some  day;  but  the 
people  here  never  seem  to  have  even  heard  of 

Christianity.' 

'GREENFIELD,  MASS.,  August  5. 

'  For  two  days  I  have  been  at  a  monster  hydropathic, 
"  Clifton  Springs."  I  wish  father  could  see  how 
they  do  things  here.  There  are  eight  resident 
doctors  all  the  year  round  and  a  chaplain.  Some 
of  the  baths  are  very  curious ;  one  room  is  given 
up  to  slapping,  and  rubbing,  and  pounding  done 
by  machinery  worked  by  a  steam-engine.  What 
fetched  me  there  was  a  petition  forwarded  to 
Chautauqua,  and  signed  by  a  great  many  people 
of  note,  including  George  H.  Stuart  of  Philadel- 
phia. On  both  nights  I  lectured  on  "  Nature  and 
Religion,"  and  on  leaving  I  found  the  folks  had 
raised  one  hundred  dollars  to  give  me.  This  is 
the  way  they  do  things  in  America,  but  I  could 


.  35]  THE  AMERICAN  COLLEGES  375 

not  take  their  money.  I  can  charge  for  science, 
but  not  for  religion.  I  find  I  could  make  a  fort- 
une here  very  quickly,  and  have  been  offered 
large  sums  to  lecture,  but  I  have  other  fish  to  fry. 
I  charged  the  Chautauqua  Company  for  what 
science  I  gave  them,  and  this  will  cover  all  my 
expenses,  along  with  £20  which  I  have  got  for  a 
magazine  article.  So  I  am  very  well  off.  Were 
it  only  to  break  down  the  universal  impression 
here  that  all  religious  work  has  an  equivalent  in 
dollars,  I  feel  it  a  duty  to  enter  this  small  protest. 

But  enough  about  dollars.' 

'NEW  YORK,  Aug.  12. 

' 1  hope  my  cablegram  reached  you  at  dinner-time 
to-day l  to  act  as  stuffing  to  the  grouse.  I  have 
come  to  lecture  to  the  American  "  British  Asso- 
ciation," z  which  by  some  unaccountable  ignorance 
and  mistake  has  given  up  a  whole  night  to  me 
to  discourse  on  the  Geology  and  Botany  of  Cen- 
tral Africa.  I  am  not  sorry  at  heart  about  this, 
as  I  have  been  riding  the  other  hobby  fiercely  in 
America,  and  need  this  to  balance  matters.' 

To  Lady  Aberdeen 

'  MONTREAL,  Aug.  26. 

'  .  .  .  He  [Captain  Sinclair]  came  to  Chautauqua,3 
where  he  found  me  addressing  the  mob  in  the 
vast  amphitheatre.  Greenfield  and  an  Edinburgh 
doctor,  who  form  part  of  our  College  deputation, 
arrived  in  Quebec  last  week,  and  came  straight  to 
Chautauqua  also,  and  we  have  been  all  more  or 
less  together  ever  since.  After  Chautauqua  we 

1  His  father's  birthday. 

2  The  American  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science. 
*  Drummond  returned  there. 


3/6  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1887 

went  to  Niagara,1  where  I  went  over  all  the  old 
ground.  After  Niagara  we  did  Toronto  and  the 
Thousand  Islands,  and  arrived  here  last  night 

'  I  enjoyed  the  American  Association  greatly.  Saw 
a  good  deal  of  Professor  Marsh,  who  regretted 
greatly  not  seeing  you.  He  had  set  his  heart  on 
showing  you  his  fossils,  which  are  the  most  unique 
bones  in  the  world.  I  am  going  to  see  them  in 
September.  My  lecture  to  the  Association  was 
mostly  about  African  insects,  and  I  had  a  magnifi- 
cent audience,  as  it  was  the  only  evening  lecture 
of  the  Association.  I  was  appalled  by  the  re- 
sponsibility of  the  occasion,  as  all  the  savants  of 
the  country  were  present,  but  for  the  sake  of  a 
certain  religious  meeting  some  of  us  held  on  the 
Sunday  I  was  not  sorry  to  do  it.  This  last  meet- 
ing went  off  very  well,  and  even  the  New  York 
Herald  had  no  fault  to  find  with  it.  This  was 

also  something  to  be  thankful  for,  as  had 

made  a  coarse  attack  on  religion  in  his  address 
two  days  before. 

'  At  Chautauqua  I  have  been  talking  at  least  twice 
a  day,  and  this  is  the  only  holiday  I  have  had 
since  you  left.  I  hope  to  be  wandering  about 
Canada  and  Nova  Scotia  with  Captain  Sinclair 
for  the  next  ten  days,  and  we  are  now  making 
leisurely  for  some  good  fishing  ground  in  the 
lower  provinces. 

'  I  am  in  correspondence  with  half  the  Colleges  of 
America  about  our  work,  and  my  mail-bag  is 
something  dreadful.' 

'WHITE  MOUNTAINS,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE,  Sept.  8. 

'  I  have  been  having  "  my  holidays "  for  the  last 
week,  and  a  very  good  time  I  have  had.  Captain 

1  Fourth  visit. 


Mr.  36]  THE  AMERICAN  COLLEGES  377 

S.  and  I  went  to  Quebec,  and  had  two  days'  fish- 
ing in  one  of  the  tributaries  of  the  St.  Lawrence. 
.  .  .  The  best  scenery  here  is  nothing  [?  in  com- 
parison with  Switzerland],  and  everything  in  that 
line  I  have  gone  to  see  has  been  a  disappointment. 
Professor  Simpson  joins  me  among  the  Colleges.' 

'  Sept.  8. 

'  My  band  of  guerillas  will  all  be  at  work  by  next 
Sunday — three  in  New  Brunswick,  one  at  Wash- 
ington, and  myself  in  New  England.  This  divi- 
sion of  the  forces  has  been  necessary  owing  to  the 
number  of  colleges  we  have  to  overtake.  I  hope 
we  shall  concentrate  by  and  by,  and  make  the 
work  more  effective.  I  expect  to  have  a  very 
hard  spell  for  the  next  month  or  more.  Every 
night  of  the  week  will  probably  be  occupied  — 
except  those  spent  in  trains. 

'  We  have  far  more  invitations  than  we  can  use. 
Among  other  things,  I  am  booked  for  four  lect- 
ures to  one  of  the  theological  colleges  —  the 
"  Something  Lectures,"  which  will  pay  all  my 
expenses,  I  think.  Had  this  not  been  a  college, 
I  could  not  have  undertaken  the  work,  as  I  am 
refusing  all  paid  lectures,  our  time  for  the  colleges 
being  too  short  as  it  is.' 

'DARTMOUTH  COLLEGE,  N.H.,  Sept.  16. 

'  You  will  be  glad  to  know  that  our  College  work 
has  opened  finely.  Last  Sunday  we  had  three 
meetings  at  Williams,1  and  again  on  Monday  and 
Tuesday,  though  we  had  meant  to  go  on  Monday. 

1  The  whole  College  turned  out  on  Monday  night 
after  we  had  each  spoken.  To  our  intense  sur- 
prise, one  of  the  students  rose  —  one  of  the  very 

1  Williams  College,  Williamstown,  Massachusetts. 


HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1887 

best  and  brightest  men  in  the  College,  whom  all 
knew  and  admired  —  and  said,  "  I  want  to  tell  you 
fellows  that  I've  been  thinking  it's  about  time  I 
changed  my  life,  and  from  this  time  forward  I  am 
resolved  to  follow  Christ."  You  may  imagine  the 
effect.  All  next  day  we  were  busy  dealing  with 
the  wounded ;  and  the  work  is  to  be  continued 
among  themselves  for  the  rest  of  the  term. 
'  At  Dartmouth  the  classes  are  suspended  for  our 
visit,  and  we  have  already  had  three  meetings. 
But  I  have  no  time  to  add  details.  Only  all  goes 
well.  Professor  Greenfield  and  Dr.  G.  P.  Smith 
are  with  me,  and  we  hope  to  find  Professor  Simp- 
son at  Amherst  College  to-morrow.  Our  recep- 
tion everywhere  is  most  hearty.  We  generally 
board  with  the  principals  of  the  Colleges,  and 
have  very  good  quarters  and  first-rate  company. 
.  .  .  The  ground  is  prepared  already  by  an 
agent  in  advance,  who  has  been  stirring  up  all 
the  Colleges  by  letter  about  our  campaign.  The 
National  College  Y.M.C.A.  Secretary1  has  given 
up  his  entire  time  to  us  for  the  next  two  months.' 

Before  joining  Drummond,  Professor  Greenfield,  Dr. 
Webster,  and  Dr.  G.  P.  Smith  had  been  among  the 
New  Brunswick  Colleges.  Professor  Simpson  went 
to  Washington  and  Philadelphia. 

(  HARTFORD,  CONN.,  Sept.  23. 

'  We  are  now  up  to  the  neck  in  hard  work.  .  .  .  We 
have  had  really  splendid  work  at  the  Colleges,  far 
surpassing  our  expectations.  Any  one  of  them 
would  have  paid  us  for  crossing  the  Ocean.  We 
are  now  all  together,  —  Simpson,  Greenfield,  and 

1  Mr.  C.  K.  Ober. 


Mr.  36]  THE  AMERICAN  COLLEGES  379 

Smith,  —  and  Sabbath  first  will  find  us  at  Prince- 
ton.' 

'  HARTFORD,  Sept.  30  ( ?  29) . 

'  Since  I  last  wrote  from  Hartford  I  have  been  to 
Princeton  and  Philadelphia.  At  Princeton  I  was 
the  guest  of  President  M'Cosh,  a  grand  old  Scotch- 
man whose  wife  is  a  niece  of  Dr.  Guthrie's. 
Simpson,  Greenfield,  Webster,  and  Smith  were 
all  with  me,  and  we  had  meetings  with  the  stu- 
dents from  morning  till  night  all  the  time.  At 
all  the  Colleges  we  have  got  the  students  started 
on  deputation  work,  and  we  hope  the  movement 
will  spread  all  over  the  country.  To-morrow  I 
go  to  Yale,  and  then  to  Harvard.  Unfortunately, 
Smith  and  I  have  to  tackle  them  single-handed, 
as  all  the  others  are  off  on  the  Umbria  to-morrow 
morning.' 

At  Yale  very  careful  preparation  had  been  made 
for  Drummond's  mission  by  students  of  the  Univer- 
sity who  had  met  him  at  the  Northfield  Conference. 
Consequently  the  work  there  was  very  deep,  and,  in 
the  testimony  of  many,  permanent. 

'YALE  COLLEGE,  NEW  HAVEN,  CONN.,  Sept.  30. 

'  My  life  is  roaring  along  like  a  cataract.  I  have 
not  been  so  busy  for  years,  and  have  literally  not 
had  an  hour  to  call  my  own.  The  Colleges  have 
given  us  the  most  generous  reception,  and  we 
have  been  allowed  to  hold  meetings  as  often  and 
at  whatever  hours  we  liked.  The  heads  of  the 
Colleges  have  given  us  hospitality,  and  nothing 
has  been  denied  us  by  the  Faculties  that  could 
facilitate  our  work.  The  students  at  the  larger 
Colleges  are  a  remarkably  fine  set  of  men.  The 


380  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1887 

Princeton,  Amherst,  and  Yale  men  are  quite 
equal  to  the  English  undergraduate  on  the  aver- 
age, while  the  best  of  them  will  compare  well 
with  the  best  of  our  men  both  in  brain-power  and 
in  scholarship.  There  is  much  less  antipathy  to 
Christianity  than  at  home,  and  many  need  only 
to  have  the  case  fairly  put  to  them  to  win  them 
over.  It  has  all  been  very  wonderful  and  very 

delightful.' 

'  YALE,  Oct.  7. 

*  This  has  been  one  of  the  best  and  busiest  weeks 
of  my  life,  but  I  have  not  a  moment  to  tell  my 
tale.  I  write  in  the  Yale  Graveyard  —  the  only 
uninhabited  spot  I  can  find ;  and  I  have  only 
twenty  minutes  for  my  whole  English  mail. 
The  work  here  has  been  most  wonderful,  great 
meetings  at  night,  and  talks  and  walks  (your  kind 
of  walks)  all  day  long. 

'  We  have  got  at  the  very  heart  and  brain  of  this 
College,  and  I  am  sure  permanent  work  has  been 
done  which  will  tell  on  all  the  colleges  round 
when  the  men  start  out  to  work.  They  are  to 
begin  the  aggressive  work  on  a  neighbouring 
University  on  Sunday  first,  while  I  go  on  to 
Harvard.  Do  not  infer  that  the  whole  College 
is  in  a  state  of  wild  excitement,  for  it  is  not  so ; 
nor  did  we  want  that.  But  the  head  centres  are 
reached  in  every  department,  and  they  will  do 
the  rest  before  the  term  is  many  weeks  older. 

'  I  had  a  delightful  day  at  Hartford  last  Friday  after 
writing  you  —  called  on  Mark  Twain,  Mrs.  Har- 
riet Beecher  Stowe,  and  the  widow  of  Horace 

Bushnell.     I  was  wishing  A had  been  at  the 

Mark  Twain  interview.  He  is  funnier  than  any 
of  his  books,  and,  to  my  surprise,  is  a  most 


Mr.  36]  THE  AMERICAN  COLLEGES  381 

respected  citizen,  devoted  to  things  aesthetic,  and 
the  friend  of  the  poor  and  struggling.' 

'UNION  LEAGUE  CLUB,  NEW  YORK,  Oct.  18. 

*  All  has  gone  merrily. 

'  I  am  now  busy  among  the  medical  students  of 
New  York,  a  scattered  and  lawless  set,  who  are 
housed  in  colleges  all  over  the  city  —  one  for 
homoeopaths,  one  for  allopaths,  one  for  surgeons, 
and  so  on  —  so  that  they  are  hard  to  reach. 
Harvard  College  (the  college  of  Lowell,  Emer- 
son, Longfellow,  Fiske,  etc.)  is  the  college  of  the 
country,  and  under  Unitarian  auspices,  so  that 
I  was  told  it  would  be  impossible  to  do  any- 
thing there,  but  the  work  was  really  better  than 
anywhere.  I  lived  with  one  of  the  professors,  a 
Unitarian,  but  I  found  no  difference  between  him 
and  myself,  and  I  never  saw  a  more  lovely  Chris- 
tian home.  I  have  come  away  with  a  new  idea 
of  the  Unitarians,  or  at  least  of  some  of  them. 
After  Harvard  I  spent  a  couple  of  days  in  the 
American  Girton  —  Wellesley  College.  It  is  the 
largest  and  most  splendid  woman's  college  in 
the  world,  and  the  standard  is  as  high  as  Har- 
vard. I  was  the  sole  male  among  six  hundred 
"girl  graduates,"  so  you  can  imagine  the  terror 
of  the  first  meetings  I  had.' 

'ALBANY,  N.Y.,  Oct.  21. 

'  It  will  be  meetings,  meetings  till  the  last  hour,  as 
we  have  all  the  colleges  of  New  York  to  tackle 
next  week.  I  am  at  present  on  my  way  to  a 
Convention  of  Students  for  the  State  of  New 
York  at  a  place  called  Schenectady,  but  I  return 
to  New  York  on  Saturday.' 


382  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1887 

On  the  29th  of  October  Drummond  sailed  in  the 
Umbria  for  England.  The  evening  after,  in  Dock- 
stader's  Theatre,  New  York,  a  meeting  of  students 
was  held,  to  hear  addresses  from  members  of  Yale 
University  and  to  further  the  movement  among  the 
New  York  Colleges.  The  Hon.  Chauncey  M.  Depew 
was  the  chairman.  The  following  characteristic  report 
appeared  in  the  New  York  World:  — 

"  Had  the  chief  minstrel  attempted  to  occupy  his  usual  seat 
on  the  stage  of  Dockstader's  Theatre  last  night,  he  would 
have  found  the  house  packed  with  a  great  audience.  Had 
Lew  Dockstader  himself  gone  to  his  usual  place  in  the  centre 
of  the  circle,  he  would  have  seen  Chauncey  M.  Depew  there. 
The  end  men  and  the  funny  men  would  have  seen  their 
places  filled  with  men  of  brawn  and  muscle,  men  who  have 
lowered  records,  men  who  can  pull  an  oar  with  the  best,  and 
men  who  can  knock  home  runs.  Athletes,  ball-players,  run- 
ners, and  gymnasts,  all  men  of  Yale,  who  had  come  here  to 
start  a  new  movement  among  college  men,  were  there.  Three 
years  ago  some  students  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh 
formed  an  association  designed  to  increase  Christian  in- 
fluence and  Christian  teachings  among  college  men.  It  has 
borne  fruit.  Professor  Henry  Drummond  introduced  the 
same  organisation  at  Yale.  The  men  on  the  stage  last  night 
had  come  to  tell  their  experiences  and  tell  their  fellows  here 
that  a  man  can  be  a  Christian  and  an  athlete  and  be  better 
for  being  both. 

'  The  theatre  was  filled  with  college  men :  Princeton,  Co- 
lumbia, Dartmouth,  Amherst,  and  the  University  of  New 
York  were  all  represented.  The  meeting  opened  with  sing- 
ing. College  men  can  sing,  and  the  old  walls  of  the  theatre 
had  no  reason  to  be  ashamed  of  what  they  had  to  echo.  Mr. 
Foster  introduced  Mr.  Depew  as  the  Chairman,  who  said :  — 

'  "  I  am  here  to-night  because  I  am  always  interested  in 
students  and  graduates.  I  don't  think  much  of  the  man  who 
can't  go  through  life  and  continue  to  have  the  freshness, 
breeziness,  and  honesty  of  the  University.  The  object  of 
this  movement  is  to  rescue  students  from  false  ideas  of  life. 


^T.  36]  THE  AMERICAN   COLLEGES  383 

To  teach  a  man  to  live  this  life  and  get  the  best  of  it.  I 
have  known  one  man  to  ruin  a  whole  class.  Too  often  I 
have  seen  the  pet,  the  most  popular  man  of  his  class,  a 
drunkard,  a  debauchee,  and  a  depraved  man  morally,  and  it  is 
such  examples  that  have  led  many  a  young  man  to  think  it 
impossible  to  be  a  good  fellow  and  a  Christian. 

'  "  The  object  of  such  a  meeting  as  this  is  to  counterbalance 
the  false  ideas  and  associations  of  young  men.  There  has 
been  too  much  of  the  bigotry  of  creed,  and  not  enough 
practical  Christianity  in  this  world.  A  man  must  learn  that 
the  largest  dividends  come  from  right  living.  The  only  thing 
that  can  save  a  man  from  drinking,  gambling,  and  lust  is 
Christianity.1  There  are,  too,  people  trying  to  break  the 
foundations  of  society.  Now  the  checking  of  all  this  must 
come  from  the  colleges.  We  must  have  Christian  men."  ' 

Mr.  Depew  then  introduced  some  of  the  leading 
students  and  athletes  of  Yale  University.  They  de- 
scribed the  work  of  Professor  Drummond,  and  how  he 
had  enlisted  the  services  of  college  men.  One  told 
how  he  had  changed  his  life  for  the  better.  '  It  was 
all  due,'  he  said, '  to  Professor  Drummond.  He  talked 
to  me  for  an  hour  one  day,  and  after  that  I  saw  my 
way  clear.' 

It  was  in  America  as  in  Scotland.  Hundreds  of 
men  repeated  the  story  of  this  Yale  student  about 
themselves.  Some  from  a  life  of  sin,  some  from  an 
aggressive  hostility  to  all  religion,  some  from  weary 
and  dark  doubts,  were  won  for  a  clear  faith  and  a 
strong  life  of  duty  and  unselfish  service.  The  men 
did  not  fail,  and  the  movement  did  not  die.  The 
quickened  religious  life  of  the  American  Universities, 
the  Student  Volunteer  Missionary  Movement,  power- 
ful in  the  United  States  as  in  Great  Britain,2  has  in 

1 1  add  this  sentence  from  another  report. 

2  By  1891  no  fewer  than  six  thousand  university  men  pledged  themselves  to 
go  to  the  foreign  field  if  opportunity  offered. 


384  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1887 

a  large  measure  been  due  to  Drummond's  mission. 
The  Rev.  Charles  Fleming  of  Minneapolis  wrote  as 
follows  in  the  Boston  Congregationalist  for  1888:  — 

'  Sober-mindedness,  religious  earnestness,  Christian  aggres- 
siveness, characterise  the  present  generation  of  college  stu- 
dents. These  qualities  are  perhaps  more  intellectual  and  less 
emotional  than  formerly.  They  are  manifesting  themselves 
less  in  occasional  revivals,  and  more  in  regular  methods  of 
Christian  conduct  and  service.  Religion  is,  in  some  colleges, 
becoming  more  natural.  I  know  of  no  college  in  which  this 
change  is  greater  than  in  Harvard.  A  dozen  years  ago  the 
Harvard  student  was  too  much  in  the  mood  of  the  man  in 
Sterne's  Sentimental  Journey  whom  a  mule  was  about  to  kick 
—  the  attitude  of  humble  apology.  The  Christian  man  of 
Harvard  seems  to-day  to  have  learned  that  Christianity  has 
rights  which  he  should  be  willing  to  claim  and  be  able  to 
oblige  his  fellows  to  respect.  It  would  not  have  surprised  me 
more,  when  I  was  in  college,  to  see  Memorial  Hall  Tower 
floating  on  the  Charles  than  to  see  Harvard  students  holding 
public  religious  services  in  the  Globe  Theatre  with  eminent 
clergymen  as  preachers,  and  the  President  of  the  University 
bestowing  the  approbation  of  his  presence.  Some  of  the 
causes  which  have  effected  this  revolution  in  Cambridge  are 
at  work  in  other  colleges.  The  influence  of  Professor  Drum- 
mond  and  his  associates  has  been  potent.  His  addresses 
and  his  private  conversations  with  students  in  many  colleges 
have  proved  to  have  somewhat  of  that  power  which  the  series 
of  sermons  of  the  elder  President  Dwight  had  in  expelling 
infidel  opinions  from  Yale  College.  His  youth,  his  ease  of 
approach,  his  ability,  his  simplicity,  his  method  of  satisfying 
the  reason  before  attempting  to  arouse  the  feelings  or  to 
move  the  will  —  appeal  with  special  persuasiveness  to  college 
men.  His  journeys  to  the  different  colleges,  and  his  lectures 
to  students  in  the  Northfield  Conferences,  have  resulted  in  a 
revival  of  personal  piety  and  of  Christian  service.' 

On    May   i,    1889,   Professor    Francis    Peabody  of 
Harvard  wrote  Drummond :  — 


JEt.  36]  THE  AMERICAN   COLLEGES  385 

'  I  venture  to  recall  myself  to  you  and  to  report  to 
you  the  substantial  good  that  has  remained  of  your 
week  among  us  here.  Movements  of  the  deepest  in- 
terest have  sprung  from  the  impulse  you  gave,  and 
I  date  from  the  beginning  of  last  year  a  larger  sense 
of  religious  responsibility. 

'  There  is  a  marked  and  growing  interest  among  us 
in  work,  among  the  humbler  classes,  of  a  University 
Settlement  or  University  Extension  kind ;  and  in 
order  to  direct  this  interest  wisely,  I  think  I  must 
see  what  has  been  done  both  in  England  and  Scot- 
land. ...  I  should  very  much  like  to  meet  you  once 
more  and  to  tell  you  how  the  religious  life  of  our  Uni- 
versity has  been  led  since  your  visit  to  us.  ...  Mean- 
time, pray  be  sure  that  a  debt  of  serious  obligation 
is  still  felt  to  you  here  for  your  wise  and  inspiring 
counsel.' 

2C 


CHAPTER   XIV 

AUSTRALIA   AND  THE   AUSTRALIAN   COLLEGES  — 1890 

THE  invitation  to  Australia  rose,  as  we  have  seen, 
out  of  the  *  Student  Movement.'  There  are  always 
a  number  of  Australians  at  Edinburgh  University, 
and  many  of  these  had  been  influenced  by  Professor 
Drummond's  meetings  since  1885.  They  had  sent 
home  reports  of  his  work ;  some  of  them  had  returned 
with  the  proof  of  it  in  their  own  characters ;  and  finally 
news  came  of  how  he  himself  had  carried  its  influ- 
ence to  the  American  colleges  in  1887.  In  1889  two 
hundred  and  thirty  members  of  Melbourne  University 
invited  Professor  Drummond  to  come  out  to  them  in 
the  following  year.  When  his  promise  to  do  so  was 
known,  invitations  were  pressed  upon  him  from  all  the 
Australian  colonies.  But,  faithful  to  the  policy  which 
he  had  followed  in  Scotland  and  America,  he  refused 
to  go  among  the  churches,  or  do  anything  that 
might  distract  his  mission  to  students,  young  men,  and 
boys.1  He  planned  to  come  home  by  some  of  the 
mission  stations  in  the  South  Seas  and  China,  and  to 
speak  to  the  students  of  Japan,  who  had  more  than 
once  invited  him  to  their  country.  One  other  service, 
which  he  could  not  foresee,  awaited  him  in  Melbourne. 
He  arrived  there  in  time  to  watch  by  the  death-bed  of 
his  friend,  John  F.  Ewing,  and  to  be  the  chief  mourner 
at  his  funeral. 

1  Mr.  W.  Lucas,  F.R.G.S.,  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  some  details  of  the 
Australian  visit,  informs  me  that  Professor  Drummond  stipulated  that  he  should 
be  allowed  to  pay  his  own  travelling  expenses. 

386 


Mi.  38]          AUSTRALIA  AND  AUSTRALIAN  COLLEGES  387 

Drummond  left  London  on  the  I4th  March  —  the 
year  was  1890  —  and  embarked  on  the  P.  and  O. 
steamer  Carthage  at  Brindisi. 

1  S.S.  CARTHAGE,  OFF  PORT  SAID,  March  19. 

*  This  is  not  a  voyage,  but  a  trip  in  the  Columba  in 

July  on  the  Clyde.  Nothing  could  be  more  per- 
fect than  sky,  sea,  ship,  or  weather.  It  is  so  glo- 
rious that  one  cannot  even  read.  But  I  hope  to 
settle  to  books  presently,  and  even  manage  "A 
Death  in  the  Desert " *  before  luncheon  to-day. 

*  I  quite  forget  if  you  play  chess.     I  have  Staunton's 

book  with  me,  and  mean  to  get  up  the  game  scien- 
tifically. It  is  my  first  love  among  games,  and  I 
have  long  wanted  a  week  to  do  homage  to  it.' 

'  OFF  ADEN,  March  24. 

*  We  are  just  turning  in  to  Aden — memories  coming 

back  of  the  last  time  I  was  here  on  my  way  to 
Africa  with  Bain,  whose  grave  now  lies  by  Lake 
Nyasa.  And  Keith  Falconer,  too,  with  his  mys- 
teriously short  life.  But  one  recalls  those  things 
only  as  a  tribute  to  the  dead.  Nothing  could  be 
more  living  than  this  ship,  or  less  morbid  than  its 
passengers ;  for  we  have  had  the  most  perfect  voy- 
age ever  made,  and  everybody  is  very  happy.  .  .  . 
The  keel  has  never  stirred  from  the  "  absolute 
perpendicular,"  and  for  certain  the  sea  will  be 
smooth  for  the  next  fortnight.  There  has  been 
no  heat  to  speak  of,  and  one  has  felt  every  day 
that  one  could  sail  on  and  on  like  this  forever. 
1 1  am  at  the  Captain's  table,  with  five  others,  a  solid 
yet  merry  party.  My  immediate  neighbour  is  an 
Italian  Count  on  his  way,  as  Ambassador,  to 
China.  He  is  a  splendid  man,  full  of  sense* 

1  He  had  taken  with  him  all  Browning's  works  for  the  voyage.         ' 


388  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1890 

goodness,  and  wide  culture,  and  we  have  formed 
a  friendship.  Indeed,  he  has  given  me — by  his 
personality — quite  a  new  idea  of  Italy;  and  such 
is  my  admiration  for  him  that  I  find  myself  daily 
on  the  point  of  asking  him  whether  there  are 
many  more  like  him  in  his  native  land.  We 
read  Browning  aloud  together. 

'  On  Sunday  we  had  the  usual  service  in  the  Saloon. 
In  the  evening  I  gave  an  address  in  the  Second 
Class  Saloon  to  about  sixty  or  seventy  people  — 
fine  young  fellows,  for  the  most  part,  going  to 
push  their  way  in  Australia. 

'  Last  night  I  followed  up  with  a  lecture  on  "Africa," 
and  I  hope  to  get  to  know  some  of  them  pres- 
ently.' 

1  NEARING  ALBANY,  April  12. 

'  I  meant  to  have  written  you  at  Colombo,  where 
we  had  the  usual  day  ashore,  but  some  friend 
had  telegraphed  on  the  passenger  list,  and  I 
found  at  least  four  deputations  waiting  to  make 
life  a  burden  and  time  a  hallucination.  I  had  to 
trot  round  everywhere,  but  really  that  place  is  too 
splendid  for  this  world,  and  my  one  regret  this 
voyage  is  that  Japan  has  done  me  out  of  at  least 
a  fortnight  there.  .  .  . 

'  I  think  one  of  the  books  that  has  pleased  me  most 
has  been  George  Macdonald's  Robert  Falconer. 
Towards  the  end  there  are  some  really  fine  bits 
about  work  among  the  poor.' 

'April  13,  1890. 

'  This  is  my  last  Sabbath  at  sea.  Australia  is  ex- 
actly three  hundred  yards  off,  and  this  finds  me, 
after  a  voyage  of  absolute  rest,  quietness,  happi- 
ness, and  health,  the  most  thankful  man  under 
the  Southern  Cross.  You  know  what  a  miserable 


JET.  38]  AUSTRALIA  AND  AUSTRALIAN   COLLEGES  389 

sailor  I  am,  yet  all  these  weeks  I  have  never 
missed  a  meal,  and  the  sea  seems  to  have  lost  all 
its  terrors.  We  judge  of  it  from  our  own  grey, 
troubled  coast,  but  to  know  it,  and  to  know  what 
climate  is,  one  has  to  come  here.  I  emphasise 
this  because  you  always  shiver  at  the  thought  of 
China,  and  I  would  like  to  try  to  make  the  pros- 
pect pleasant  even  if  it  should  never  be  realised. 
Up  to  Colombo  the  China  route  is  glorious,  and 
Ceylon  itself  is  worth  the  whole  voyage.' 

'MELBOURNE,  April  21. 

'  Your  prediction  was  right  about  the  interviewers, 
who  turned  up  in  phalanxes  at  each  port.  Happily, 
I  did  not  see  their  lucubrations,  as  the  steamer 
always  bore  me  from  the  scene  of  trial  before  the 
papers  were  out. 

'  A  troop  of  students  met  me  at  the  pier  here  on 
Saturday  morning,  and  in  the  evening  we  met 
again  to  plan  the  campaign.  We  begin  on 
Friday  with  a  reception  in  the  'Varsity  and  then 
on  Sunday. 

'  To-day  is  a  public  holiday,  with  a  workmen's  pro- 
cession to  commemorate  the  Eight  Hours' 
victory. 

'  I  read  Dilke  and  Seeley  on  the  voyage,  according 
to  instructions,  and  feel  very  wise  and  Imperial- 
Federationally. 

1  We  must  take  this  jolly  child  a  little  nearer  its 
grey  old  mother.  I  am  asked  to  the  opening 
dinner  of  Parliament  a  fortnight  hence. 

'  I  did  not  stop  at  Adelaide,  as  Ewing  wrote  it 
would  not  do  to  begin  there.  But  I  shall  return 
soon.' 


390  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1890 

Drummond  stayed  with  John  Ewing,  his  fellow- 
student,  his  comrade  at  Sunderland,  and  one  of  '  our 
Club.'  Ewing  had  built  up  a  large  working-class 
congregation  in  Dundee ;  for  some  years  he  had  held, 
with  great  courage,  a  very  difficult  post  in  Glasgow ; 
and  in  1887  he  was  called  to  the  large  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Toorak,  a  leading  suburb  of  Melbourne. 
Physically  he  was  a  very  strong  man.  I  climbed 
Monte  Rosa  and  the  Matterhorn  with  him  in  1885, 
and  he  could  then  go  up  hill  faster  than  any  guides. 
But  his  zeal  and  unselfishness  were  even  greater  than 
his  physical  strength,  and  the  way  he  worked  for 
three  and  a  half  years  at  Toorak  wore  him  out.  A 
week  after  Drummond  landed  in  Melbourne,  Ewing 
was  down  with  what  was  thought  to  be  influenza,  then 
raging  in  Australia.  On  the  2d  of  May  the  doctors 
pronounced  it  to  be  typhoid.  He  saw  his  lawyer,  and 
gave  Drummond  a  message  for  his  wife,  who  had  gone 
on  a  visit  to  Scotland.  After  this  he  spoke  little, 
slept  most  of  the  time  for  eight  days  more,  his  friend 
by  his  side,  and  on  May  1 1  th  passed  quietly  away. 

To  D.  M.  Ross 

'  TOORAK  MANSE,  May  12,  1890. 

'  MY  DEAR  Ross,  —  I  am  alone  in  the  Manse.  It 
is  very  terrible.  This  is  his  desk  and  paper. 
How  can  I  write  you? 

'  Send  this  round  the  Club  if  you  like,  for  I  ought 
to  write  each  one.  After  I  wrote  last  he  slowly 
sank ;  never  spoke ;  no  pain.  At  dusk  on 
Friday  he  passed  away,  my  hand  in  his.  The 
nurse  said  it  was  the  gentlest  death  she  ever  saw. 

4  He  never  spoke  much,  and  never  said  farewell. 
We  had  four  very  happy  days  together,  then  the 


JEi.  38]  AUSTRALIA  AND   AUSTRALIAN   COLLEGES  39! 

cloud  fell,  and  he,  the  real  he,  was  slowly  taken 
from  my  sight.  .  .  . 

'  Oh,  Ross,  I  cannot  go  on.  This  is  the  first  break 
in  our  ranks,  and  I  never  thought  it  was  so  big. 
We  must  close  up  now  and  work  hard.  This  is 
what  I  am  feeling  much  these  days.  Tell  the 
men  to  excuse  me  writing,  as  I  have  all  E.'s  peo- 
ple to  communicate  with  at  length.  For  them, 
for  her,  how  terrible  it  all  is ! ' 

To  Lady  Aberdeen 

'  You  would  hear  perhaps  of  the  awful  thing  that 
happened  —  in  the  next  room.  He  passed  away, 
my  hand  in  his,  more  gently  than  a  sleeping  child. 
Strange  that  I  should  have  been  sent  across  these 
seas  for  this.  For  the  time  it  has  sobered  me. 
I  feel  I  must  work  hard. 

'  Ewing  had  some  absurd  mannerisms,  but  under- 
neath I  never  knew  a  saner,  purer,  grander  soul. 
His  influence  here  has  been  phenomenal.  No 
man  ever  made  such  an  impression  on  a  com- 
munity in  three  years  and  a  half.  At  his  funeral 
the  church  was  crowded  with  weeping  people  — 
from  the  Premier  and  the  Bishop  to  the  Street 
Arabs  whom  he  had  saved.  Four  of  these  last 
drove  in  a  cab  to  the  grave,  and  could  scarcely 
lay  down  the  wreath  they  had  clubbed  to  buy, 
for  tears.' 

At  the  memorial  service  Professor  Drummond  de- 
livered the  address :  — 

'  Six  days  before  the  end  he  asked  me  to  take  a  sheet 
of  paper  and  write  a  message  to  his  wife.  I  think  I 
betray  no  trust  if  to  you,  his  people,  I  repeat  a  sen- 


392  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1890 

tence  of  what  he  said.  His  voice  never  faltered  as 
he  gave  it ;  his  look  was  grave  but  calm ;  he  spoke  as 
one  whose  mind  was  made  up,  as  if  he  expressed  a  con- 
viction, deliberate,  fixed,  and  fully  ripe.  "  Tell  her," 
he  said,  "  that  my  mind  is  not  very  clear,  but  the  one 
thing  clear  in  it  is  her,  and  all  this  suffering  is  nothing 
if  it  means  going  to  Christ  and  getting  her  after.  I 
was  so  robust  that  I  did  not  feel  need  of  taking  special 
precaution.  Sir  James  Bain  says  I  should  have  spared 
myself ;  so  I  should.  But  there  was  nothing  to  warn 
me.  I  suspect  it  was  God's  will." 

1  There  are,'  continued  Drummond,  *  two  ways  in 
which  a  workman  regards  his  work  —  as  his  own  or 
as  his  master's.  If  it  is  his  own,  then  to  leave  it  in  his 
prime  is  a  catastrophe,  if  not  a  cruel  and  unfathoma- 
ble wrong.  But  if  it  is  his  Master's,  one  looks  not 
backwards,  but  before,  putting  by  the  well-worn  tools 
without  a  sigh,  and  expecting  elsewhere  better  work 
to  do.  So  he  suspected  it  was  in  the  will  of  God. 
We  must  try  to  think  so  too.  Work  is  given  men 
not  only,  nor  so  much  perhaps,  because  the  world 
needs  it,  but  because  the  workman  needs  it.  Men 
make  work,  but  work  makes  men.  An  office  is  not 
a  place  for  making  money,  it  is  a  place  for  making 
men.  A  workshop  is  not  a  place  for  making  ma- 
chinery, it  is  a  place  for  making  souls ;  for  fitting 
in  the  virtues  to  one's  life;  for  turning  out  honest, 
modest,  and  good-natured  men.  So  is  it  with  the 
work  of  the  State  or  of  the  Church.  This  is  why  it 
never  hurries  —  because  it  is  as  much  for  the  worker 
as  for  the  work.  .  .  .  For  Providence  cares  less  for 
winning  causes  than  that  men,  whether  losing  or  win- 
ning, should  be  great  and  true;  cares  nothing  that 
reforms  should  drag  their  course  from  year  to  year 
bewilderingly,  but  that  men  and  nations,  in  carrying 


JEr.  35]  AUSTRALIA   AND  AUSTRALIAN   COLLEGES  393 

them  out,  should  find  their  education,  discipline,  unself- 
ishness, and  growth  in  grace.  These  lessons  learned, 
the  workers  may  be  retired  —  not  because  the  cause  is 
won,  but  because  it  is  not  won ;  because  He  has  other 
servants,  some  at  lesser  tasks,  some  half  employed  or 
unemployed,  whom  He  must  needs  call  into  the  field. 
For  one  man  to  do  too  much  for  the  world  is  in  one 
sense  the  whole  world's  loss.  So  it  may  be  that  God 
withdraws  His  workers  even  when  their  hands  are  full- 
est and  their  souls  most  ripe :  to  fill  the  vacancies  with 
still  growing  men,  and  enrich  many  with  the  loss  of 
one.  I  do  not  propose  this,  even  as  an  explanation 
of  the  inexplicable  phenomenon,  which  startles  the 
Church  from  time  to  time,  as  one  and  another  of  its 
noblest  leaders  are  cut  down  in  the  flower  of  their 
strength.  But  when  our  thoughts  are  heavy  with 
questions  of  the  mysterious  ways  of  God,  it  keeps 
reason  from  reeling  from  its  throne  to  see  even  a 
glimpse  of  light. 

'  But  one  diverges  into  these  things  mainly  because 
it  is  easier  to  say  them  than  to  approach  any  nearer 
to  the  man  himself.  When  I  think  of  Mr.  Ewing's 
work  and  influence  here,  my  soul  fills  with  gratitude 
and  enthusiasm  for  my  friend.  His  concentration,  it 
is  true,  was  exceptional,  his  initiative  very  great,  his 
vitality  as  exuberant  as  his  hope.  It  is  true  —  and 
how  wonderful  this  is  —  that  he  never  did  anything 
but  his  work.  He  had  no  petty  interests.  He  saw 
always  the  main  stream  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  all 
currents  in  Church  or  State  that  make  for  righteous- 
ness, and  he  threw  himself  into  them.  But  none  of 
these  things  could  have  produced  the  extraordinary 
demonstration  here  on  Friday  last.  Intellectual  brill- 
iancy could  not  have  done  it,  nor  ecclesiastical  posi- 
tion, nor  successful  preaching  power.  What  did  it 


394  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1890 

was  his  character,  his  downright,  sterling,  pure,  strong 
character.  Three  and  a  half  years  of  that  —  it  looks 
very  short.  But  character  knows  no  calendar,  for  it 
alone  of  all  forces  is  infinitely  great,  and  cannot  but 
do  its  work.  .  .  . 

'  Three  weeks  ago  to-day,  when  he  stood  here  and 
gave  us  the  last  Sunday  morning's  message  of  his 
life,  you  remember  he  preached  on  the  "  Atonement." 
He  dwelt  upon  one  or  two  sides  of  that  stupendous 
theme,  and  promised  to  lay  before  us  a  further  aspect 
on  a  future  day.  I  am  not  sure  that  that  promise  is 
unfulfilled.  Perhaps  what  he  meant  to  tell  us  was 
that  the  principle  of  the  Atonement  was  a  law  of 
Nature  .  .  .  that  up  and  down  the  whole  of  God's 
creation  the  one  law  of  life,  the  supreme  condition  of 
progress,  the  sole  hope  of  the  future  is  Christ's  law  of 
the  sacrifice  of  self.  If  that  were  his  meaning,  his 
sermon  has  been  surely  preached.  The  corn  of  wheat, 
of  which  he  spoke  to  us  that  day,  has  fallen  into  the 
ground  and  died.  I,  for  one,  have  neglected  many  a 
sermon.  But  for  this  one  never  spoken,  this  mute 
appeal  of  a  life  laid  down,  this  last  life-message  from 
one  who  will  never  speak  again  —  is  there  a  man 
among  us  who  will  be  to-morrow  as  if  that  had  never 
been  ? ' 

In  Melbourne  and  in  Adelaide  Drummond  held 
meetings  for  students,  for  young  men  generally,  and 
for  boys  and  girls.  As  in  Edinburgh,  he  would  have 
nothing  but  students  at  his  student  meetings,  and 
admitted  no  reporters.  Some  of  the  religious  papers 
were  very  angry  at  this.  '  The  newspaper  interviewer,' 
said  one  editor,  '  who  can  generally  draw  blood  from  a 
stone,  can  get  nothing  for  a  notice  out  of  Professor 
Drummond.'  What  he  gave  the  Australian  students 


J&T.  38]  AUSTRALIA  AND  AUSTRALIAN  COLLEGES  395 

was,  with  suitable  variations,  what  he  had  been  giving 
the  students  of  Scotland  and  America. 

t  MELBOURNE,  April  29. 

'  The  meetings  have  done  well.  The  students  are 
turning  out  splendidly,  and  I  think  something 
may  be  effected  before  long.' 

<  May  6. 

*  The  students'  meetings  have  gone  on.     All  I  will 

say  is  that  it  has  been  all  I  hoped  for.' 

'May  12. 

*  I  have  had  a  few  good  meetings,  and  some  talks 

with  the  right  kind  of  men.  To-morrow  I  go  to 
Adelaide  for  ten  days,  and  back  here  for  nightly 
meetings.  Thereafter  my  future  is  still  a  blank. 
All  depends  on  how  the  work  develops.' 

'  May  27. 

'  I  have  been  off  to  Adelaide  and  put  in  a  week's  hard 
work  —  meetings,  meetings,  meetings.  I  can  send 
you  no  reports,  as  I  have  discovered  how  to  cir- 
cumvent the  Press,  and  have  succeeded  most 
effectually  everywhere. 

'Hobart  is  not  in  sight  yet.  Poor  Ewing's  illness 
has  thrown  me  rather  out  of  my  programme.  It 
is  certainly  hard  to  get  in  anything  else  when  one 
is  on  a  mission.  Do  not  be  surprised  if  you  hear 
that  I  am  off  to  the  South  Sea  Islands  (!)  in  a  few 
weeks.  It  is  only  a  prospect  as  yet,  but  some 
people  here  are  keen  about  my  going,  and  I  am 
at  least  thinking  over  it.  The  point  is  mainly 
political  —  France  wants  the  New  Hebrides,  and 
Victoria  says  she  shan't  get  them.  They  want 
me  to  write  the  thing  up  at  home.  Then  there  is 
a  very  crucial  missionary  problem ;  and  the  esca- 


396  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1890 

pade  tempts  me  generally.  It  would  take  about 
four  weeks,  leaving  Sydney  June  17,  and  return- 
ing—  cannibals  permitting  —  about  July  loth. 
But  it  is  only  a  dream.  I  mention  it  in  case 
there  should  be  a  silence  presently  for  about  a 
month.  It  would  not  alter  my  general  plan,  as 
I  am  getting  quicker  through  my  College  work 
than  I  expected.  .  .  . 

'  Now  I  must  off  to  the  'Varsity  to  meet  some  wild 
beasts.' 

'  SYDNEY,  June  7. 

*  I  arrived  in  How-d'ye-like-our- Harbour  a  couple  of 
hours  ago,  and  have  just  heard  that  the  English 
mail  starts  earlier  from  here  —  which  is  natural. 
So  I  fly  to  my  pen,  though  I  have  little  or  nothing 
to  report. 

'  Melbourne  has  been  one  round  of  meetings,  some- 
times two  daily.  All  were  got  up  quite  privately, 
and  I  think  there  may  have  been  some  little  good 
done.  What  I  liked  most  was  some  meetings 
with  the  Young  Australian  Club  men,  who  gave 
me  a  real  chance  to  speak  to  them.  You  will  be 
disgusted  to  know  that  I  never  had  a  night  for 
Government  House,  though  they  were  most  kind 
in  asking  me ;  but  I  had  every  hour  of  every  day 
filled  with  what  I  came  to  do. 

'  On  my  way  here  I  broke  the  journey  at  a  Squatter 
Station,  and  had  a  really  happy  day  in  the  bush. 
I  saw  heaps  of  kangaroos,  dined  on  the  tails 
thereof,  and  after  dinner  hunted  'possums  in  the 
moonlight  till  the  Express  whizzed  up  shortly 
after  midnight.  It  had  been  ordered  to  stop 
for  me,  and  when  I  tumbled  out  of  the  bush  into 
the  Pullman  I  rather  surprised  Mr.  J.  L.  Toole 
(if  you  don't  know  who  he  is,  see  The  Christian] 


JET.  38]  AUSTRALIA  AND   AUSTRALIAN  COLLEGES  397 

and  some  of  his  mates  playing  roulette,  after  they 
supposed  the  coast  was  clear.  I  had  met  Toole 
at  Melbourne,  and  he  offered  me  a  corner  at 
rouge-et-noire,  which  was  brotherly.  I  cannot  get 
to  Hobart,  which  is  miserable.  Time  is  the  cul- 
prit. I  had  no  idea  I  should  be  so  busy.  The 
New  Hebrides  look  nearer.  I  had  a  long  talk 
with  the  Premier  of  Victoria  on  the  subject. 
Every  one  is  very  anxious  for  me  to  go,  as  they 
have  taken  into  their  heads  that  I  can  help  things 
politically.  If  I  go,  it  will  simply  take  the  time  I 
should  have  given  to  New  Zealand.' 

' June  9. 

'  Finished  Melbourne.  All  very  good.  At  the  last 
I  had  sometimes  two  or  three  meetings  a  day. 
Students  and  others  are  taking  up  several  bits  of 
work.  Boys'  Brigade  launched.' 

The  following  letter  to  the  Rev.  John  Walker  of 
Woolahra,1  who  arranged  the  Sydney  meetings,  gives 
a  good  idea  of  our  evangelist's  aims  and  methods  all 
through  the  last  twelve  years  of  his  life :  — 

'AUSTRALIAN  CLUB  [MELBOURNE],  Wednesday. 
'  If  you  can  manage  it,  perhaps  you  will  get  up  a 
meeting  on  Sunday  night  for  better-class  young 
men,  non-church  members  as  far  as  possible. 
Everybody  goes  to  the  Y.M.C.A.  young  man ; 
I  am  anxious  for  a  shot  at  the  outsiders.  Last 
night  a  young  champion  tennis-player  got  up  a 
meeting  of  two  hundred  splendid  young  fellows 
here,  and  that  is  exactly  the  sort  of  thing  I 
should  covet.  There  were  no  public  advertise- 
ments. He  and  half-a-dozen  young  fellows 
about  the  clubs  handed  cards  of  admission  to 

1  Mr.  Walker  was  one  of  his  old  fellow-workers  in  Liverpool  in  1875. 


398  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1890 

their  own  "  set  "  privately,  and  we  reached  a  class 
who  never  go  to  church.  I  should  prefer  fifty  of 
that  class  to  one  thousand  of  the  church-goers. 
The  great  problem  in  these  colonies  is  the  young 
"  outsider."  I  am  sure  you  will  know  one  or  two 
men  who  will  run  this  quietly  through.  I  sup- 
pose seven  at  night  in  some  small  central  hall 
would  be  the  best  time  and  place.  No  elders 
admitted.  Parsons,  £10  a  head.  Reporters, 


'  Lastly,  dorit  do  this  if   you   don't   think   it  will 

work.' 

'SYDNEY,  June  18. 

4  1  was  told  Sydney  was  the  wickedest  place  in 
Oceania.  I  must  say  I  have  nowhere  had  such 
a  chance.  The  students  have  turned  out  nobly 
night  after  night,  and  they  are  going  to  run  the 
meetings  henceforth  every  Sunday  night  them- 
selves. The  most  influential  undergraduates  are 
leading  the  movement,  and  the  two  most  liked 
and  most  brilliant  among  the  professors  will 
second  them  in  every  way. 

'  On  Sunday  I  had  one  of  the  most  curious  gather- 
ings I  ever  faced.  Some  doctors  asked  me  to 
address  "  the  Sydney  doctors,"  of  whom  it  seems 
only  four  or  so  go  to  church.  They  got  the 
Royal  Society's  rooms,  and  the  President  thereof 
took  the  chair.  There  were  exactly  one  hundred 
and  forty  present,  all  doctors.  I  spoke  from  the 
standpoint  of  Evolution  ;  and  they  were  so  much 
interested  that  next  day  twenty  of  them  agreed 
to  pay  ,£50  a  year  each  to  "  start  a  Church  for 
doctors  "  on  the  spot,  and  get  out  a  man  from 
home  at,  at  least,  ^1000  a  year.  Many  of  them 
are  extremely  able  men,  and  several  medical  pro- 


JEr.  38]          AUSTRALIA  AND  AUSTRALIAN  COLLEGES  399 

fessors  have  joined  since.  The  "  Conversion  "  is 
somewhat  "  sudden,"  but  something  will  certainly 
come  of  it. 

*  Yesterday  I  was  honoured  by  a  Sydney  magistrate 
with  a  Picnic  on  the  Harbour.  A  steamer  was 
chartered,  and  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  guests 
invited.  We  sailed  about  all  day,  and  had  luncheon 
and  afternoon  tea  on  board.  I  talked  for  seven 
hours  without  a  comma,  and  saw  very  little  of  the 
Harbour,  but  I  hope  for  a  more  private  inspection 
on  my  return. 

'  It  is  now  two  in  the  morning,  and  in  eight  hours  I 
start  for  the  New  Hebrides.  The  ship  is  good, 
the  sea  smooth,  the  cannibals  fairly  fed  at  present, 
and  all  looks  well  for  a  happy  voyage.  The 
wretch  who  led  me  on  the  ice  (a  politician),  who 
was  to  go  with  me,  telegraphed  me  from  Mel- 
bourne, a  few  hours  ago,  that  he  could  not  come. 
It  seems  my  fate  to  be  a  solitary  traveller.  A 
special  ship  is  to  call  for  me  at  one  of  the  groups 
and  land  me  here  about  July  loth.  .  .  .' 

On  his  return  from  the  New  Hebrides,  Drummond 
'found  the  Sydney  students  running  their  Sunday 
evening  meeting  bravely,  and  all  going  splendidly.' 
From  Melbourne  he  had  '  also  good  news.' 

What  else  can  be  said  about  his  Australian  mission, 
except  that  it  evoked  the  usual  number  of  personal 
appeals,  which  met  him  wherever  his  books  had 
come  or  he  himself  spoken.  To  every  platform  on 
which  he  appeared,  there  came  a  rush  of  questions, 
and  many  hours  a  day  were  filled  with  private  inter- 
views. His  addresses  to  students  must  have  taken 
the  line  of  his  Ascent  of  Man,  for  the  questions  which 
he  kept  relate  to  the  reconciliation  of  the  doctrines  of 


4OO  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1890 

evolution  with  the  statements  of  the  Bible  as  to  man's 
creation.  Among  the  letters  he  received  are  a  number 
from  men  praying  for  the  appearance  of  a  broader  and 
more  rational  Christianity,  and  expressing  the  sense 
that  it  is  at  least  '  in  the  air.'  As  if  to  emphasise  the 
need  of  this,  there  are  letters  of  a  kind  which  met 
Drummond  wherever  he  went  in  Britain,  America,  or 
Australia — letters  which  reveal  Christian  faith  wrecked 
and  Christian  energies  dissipated  by  the  doctrine  of 
verbal  inspiration.1  In  remote  corners  of  our  great 
colony,  Drummond  came  across  men  who  still  knew 
only  of  the  older  orthodoxy  and  the  easy  triumphs 
which  certain  infidel  writers  had  obtained  over  its 
beliefs  in  the  equal  and  absolute  inspiration  of  every 
part  of  the  Bible.  To  read  the  letters  of  such  men 
is  to  understand  how  many  earnest  and  pure  spirits  in 
our  day  have  been  forced  to  give  up  Christianity  be- 
cause they  have  ignorantly  thought  that  it  is  identified 
with  everything  in  both  the  Testaments.  And  it  was 
no  small  part  of  Drummond's  mission  in  Australia,  as 
in  Great  Britain  and  America,  to  bring  home  to  such 
'forwandered '  souls  the  new  possibilities  of  faith  which 
lie  in  the  rational  and  discriminating  criticism  of  the 
Old  Testament,  to  which  Christ  Himself  has  shown 
us  the  way  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount. 

But  difficulties  of  faith  are  not  the  subject  of  all  the 
letters  Drummond  received  in  Australia.2  Some  men 
and  women  write  to  ask  his  prayers  for  their  recovery 
from  long  disease ;  they  are  convinced  that  God  must 
grant  what  he  asks.  And,  as  usual,  there  are  petitions 

1  A  note  by  Drummond  on  a  character  projected  for  a  story  by  a  friend  runs 
thus:  'No.  I.'s  fundamental  mistake  is  verbal  inspiration.     This  prevents  him 
thinking.      The  paralysing  and  stunting  effect  of  anything  which  interferes  with 
the  legitimate  exercise  of  human  faculty.' 

2  At  one  place  in  Victoria  a  '  Drummond  Club '  of  men  was  formed  for  the 
regular  study  of  his  writings. 


fix.  38]  AUSTRALIA  AND   AUSTRALIAN   COLLEGES  40 1 

from  men  with  grievances,  with  unrecognised  inven- 
tions, or  with  patents  overlooked  by  Government.  One 
curious  letter,  which  he  received  after  his  return  to 
Scotland,  intimates  that  the  writer,  a  resident  in  some 
far-away  station,  has  ideas  for  which  the  world  is  hun- 
gering; that  he  is  afraid  to  communicate  them  to 
Drummond  lest  the  latter  should  unconsciously  appro- 
priate them ;  but  that  he  will  send  them  in  a  sealed 
envelope,  to  be  opened  on  the  author's  death,  and 
published  with  his  name.  And  a  still  more  pathetic 
epistle  comes  from  an  old  man,  who  has  spent  his  life 
in  vainly  trying  to  get  expression  for  a  '  system '  of 
philosophy  he  has  perfected,  and  who  wishes  to  name 
Drummond  as  his  successor  and  its  prophet. 

For  wherever  he  came,  men  both  old  and  young 
had  new  hope,  and  the  weary  were  refreshed  by  his 
sympathy. 


CHAPTER   XV 

DIARIES  OF  TRAVEL.  — III.  THE  NEW  HEBRIDES 

Coral  Islands  and  Volcanoes;  the  Last  of  the  Canni- 
bals; Civilisation  and  Christian  Missions 

IN  a  letter,  quoted  above,1  Drummond  gives  his 
reasons  for  going  to  the  New  Hebrides.  He  had  not 
included  them  in  his  Australian  plans;  but  after  his 
arrival  at  Melbourne,  several  leading  colonists  pressed 
upon  him  the  importance  of  making  himself  acquainted 
with  the  political  problems  on  these  islands,  from  which 
our  Australian  colonies  were  then  suffering  no  small 
anxiety.  The  New  Hebrides  lie  some  fifteen  hundred 
miles  east  from  the  coast  of  Queensland ;  to  the  south 
is  the  French  convict  settlement  of  New  Caledonia,  to 
the  south-east  the  British  Fiji  Islands.  Discovered  by 
the  Portuguese  in  1606,  but  first  explored  by  Captain 
Cook  in  1773,  they  were  found  to  be  inhabited  by  can- 
nibals of  the  lowest  type.  Every  one  knows  their 
strangely  mingled  history  since  they  came  into  touch 
with  Europe.  The  trade  for  sandalwood,  cocoanuts, 
and  arrowroot ;  the  exportation  of  the  natives  to  labour 
in  Queensland ;  and  the  work  of  the  English  and 
Scottish  missions  —  none  of  these  has  happened  with- 
out bloodshed  and  cruelty.  After  long  toil  and  many 
martyrdoms,  the  missionaries  have  civilised  the  south- 
ern islands,  the  labour  traffic  has  been  regulated  by  the 
Australian  governments,  but  politically  the  islands 
remain,  so  to  speak,  in  the  air.  Before  1890  Great 

1  P.  395- 
402 


JET.  38]  THE  NEW   HEBRIDES  403 

Britain  claimed  them,  but  had  done  nothing  to  annex 
them.  France  claimed  them,  but  our  Australian 
colonies  resented  the  claims  of  France,  and  baffled 
more  than  one  attempt  to  make  these  good.  By  a 
Convention  both  Powers  have  since  agreed  to  respect 
their  independence. 

It  was  in  order  to  bear  testimony  at  home  on  this 
critical  state  of  affairs  that  leading  men  in  Australia 
pressed  Drummond  to  visit  the  islands.  He  was  also 
attracted  by  the  prospect  of  seeing  the  effects  of 
Christian  missions  upon  a  savage  people ;  the  mission 
in  Aneityum  was  of  his  own  Church,  and  he  would  be 
her  first  direct  visitor  to  it.  Moreover,  as  a  geologist 
he  would  have  the  opportunity  of  studying  islands  at 
once  of  volcanic  and  of  coral  formation.  On  all  these 
lines  the  bright  promise  was  fulfilled.  Drummond 
made  a  close  and  most  exciting  inspection  of  the  crater 
of  a  volcano  in  full  activity.  He  conversed  with  sheer 
savages,  and  with  his  own  eyes  saw  their  customs.  He 
obtained  a  clear  view  of  the  political  situation.  But, 
above  all,  he  came  home  from  his  visit  to  the  missions 
with  a  new  belief  in  the  power  of  Christianity,  and  in 
the  heroism  of  his  fellow-churchmen  upon  those  lonely 
and  barbarian  edges  of  the  world. 

He  left  Sydney  on  June  iQth,  and  by  way  of  Noumea, 
the  capital  of  New  Caledonia,  he  reached  Aneityum. 
He  attended  the  Synod  of  the  New  Hebrides  Mission, 
and  heard  it  pass  a  resolution  calling  on  the  British 
Government,  first,  to  encourage  British  settlers  on  the 
group  and  provide  for  the  secure  tenure  of  the  lands 
they  purchased  ;  secondly,  either  to  extend  the  prohibi- 
tion of  the  sale  of  firearms,  which  was  enforced  only 
on  British  subjects,  to  men  of  all  nations,  or  to  rescind 
it  altogether ;  and,  thirdly,  to  abolish  the  foreign  labour 
traffic,  '  the  more  especially  as  settlers  on  this  group 


404  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1890 

will  have  need  of  at  least  all  the  available  labour  which 

it  can  afford.' 

'ANEITYUM,  June  25. 

'  All  the  missionaries  are  gathered  here  for  the 
General  Assembly.1  I  represent  the  Free  Church 
there  to-night.  What  a  change ! ' 

He  left  Aneityum  next  day,  and  now  we  follow  his 
diary. 

'  June  27. 

'  At  dawn  skirting  Futuna.  The  volcano  of  Tanna 
ve'ry  much  in  evidence  all  night.  Usually  a  narrow 
pillar  of  red,  neither  dull  nor  glowing;  a  red-hot 
colour,  very  large,  occasionally  a  brilliant  display. 
This  was  at  a  distance  of  over  forty  miles. 

'  Futuna,  one  huge  block  of  rock  covered  completely 
green,  like  Aneityum :  caused  by  grasses,  herbs,  and 
wildflowers,  patches  of  forest  here  and  there,  and  a 
dense  fringe  of  cocoanuts  along  the  coast.  Cocoanut 
trees  in  quantity  do  not  help  a  landscape  much.  It 
is  one  against  the  sky  that  stirs  your  soul  with  the 
wonder  of  its  grace  and  beauty.  But  any  kind  of 
tree  will  beat  them  as  foliage.  The  form  is  not  fine ; 
shadows  are  wanting.  There  is  a  stiff,  metallic  look, 
and  the  green  is  dingy  and  tarnished  with  decaying 
fronds,  the  shreds  of  fibrous  cloth,  and  even  the 
bunches  of  brown  .  .  .  [?]  which  hold  the  cocoanuts. 
Green  to  water's  edge.  Roughly  terraced ;  only  here 
and  there  bare  rock  visible. 

'  Very  like  Table  Mountain. 

'  Geologically  one  would  say  at  once  "  a  truncated 
cone."  One  or  two  baby  volcanoes.  On  landing  all 
is  coral.  It  extends  upwards  at  least  one  thousand 
feet.  Dip  upwards,  ////.  This  dip  towards  a  supposed 

1  Administrative  Synod. 


JET.  38]  THE    NEW  HEBRIDES  405 

crater  is  found  all  round.  The  top  is  a  plateau.  Is 
any  basalt  visible  ?  I  think  not.  It  looks  all  the 
same,  coral  to  the  very  top.  Basalt,  water-worn  stones 
gathered  from  shore  are  arranged  round  the  Manse 
garden,  and  I  was  told  there  was  volcanic  rock  "  on 
the  other  side."  The  small  hill  on  shore  line,  where 
the  "  geological  photograph  "  was  taken  by  Dr.  Gunn, 
seems  from  his  description  to  be  like  the  Giant's 
Causeway. 

'  Glorious  colour  of  the  sea  —  bluest  blue. 

'  Off  in  whale-boat  to  land  Dr.  Gunn.  Coral  grow- 
ing everywhere.  Ashore  on  human-back.  Small  crowd 
of  natives.  Real  article  this  time.  Some  clothed 
women ;  with  grass  kilts  and  shell  necklaces ;  huge 
earrings  made  of  tortoiseshell  look  like  a  bunch  of 
keys.  Bushy  hair  of  the  aureole  type.  Some  women 
had  this  covered  with  a  green  banana  leaf  decoratively 
arranged  thus :  wound  once  round  head  after  being 
cut  into  four  or  five  "  liths,"  and  then  gathered  on  the 
top  of  the  head  and  tied  in  a  knot.  The  appearance 
is  most  picturesque,  looks  as  if  each  had  a  crown  on 
her  head. 

'  Many  shook  hands.  Offered  bags  for  sale  made 
of  neatly  plaited  pandanus  leaf.  Some  offered  rare 
shells  of  great  beauty  and  a  flint  axe,  which  I  bought 
for  a  stick  of  tobacco.  Another  offered  four  eggs. 

'  Clambered  up  rugged  path,  winding  up  coral.  In- 
troduced to  Mrs.  Gunn.  She  has  not  been  off  the 
island,  except  to  Aneityum  for  short  time,  for  eight 
years.  Only  had  ship  calling  once  in  six  months. 
"  I  suppose  I  cannot  ask  you  if  it  is  ever  dull  ? "  — 
"  We  prove  that,"  said  Dr.  Gunn,  "  by  taking  furlough 
every  twelve  years  instead  of  every  ten."  But  this  is 
phenomenal.  This  couple  on  this  Rock  for  eight 
years.  For  six  years  saw  absolutely  no  visible  result. 


406  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1890 

Now  just  beginning.  New  mission-house  finely  situ- 
ated on  a  terrace  of  coral  shrined  in  palms  as  usual. 
Old  house  destroyed  by  hurricane  lately.  Cocoanut 
grove  behind  house,  walk  six  yards,  behold,  a  native 
village !  The  houses  are  like  the  thatched  cover  of  a 
bullock  waggon,  without  windows  of  course,  and  door 

at  end.' 

'  TANNA,  June  27. 

'  7.30.  —  Steamer  steamed  at  its  best  to  reach  Tanna 
in  time  for  volcano  visit.  Close  under  the  island  almost 
two  o'clock.  Spot  was  Port  Resolution.  Captain 
Cook's  eye  (he  had  a  genius  for  seeing  these  things : 
any  ordinary  navigator  would  have  passed  the  place 
as  a  mere  shallow  irregularity  on  the  coast-line),  saw 
here  an  anchorage,  and  called  it  after  his  ship  the 
Resolution. 

'  This  was  the  scene  of  Mr.  Paton's  struggles.  Not 
a  sign  of  life,  the  usual  type  of  Hebrides  island  — 
mountainous,  sloping  gently  towards  sea,  the  belt  of 
tropical  vegetation  terminating  below  in  the  usual 
fringe  of  cocoanut,  above  in  light-green  under- 
wood, and  wooded  to  the  top.  The  volcano  is  not 
centrally  situated,  so  much  so  that  from  a  distance  it 
almost  seems  a  low  island  separate  from  the  large 
mountainous  masses  of  the  interior.  The  coast  here 
to  the  far-away  side  has  a  very  strange  look  to  the 
geological  eye.  It  has  a  new  look.  A  low  cliff  of 
unswathed  rock  runs  all  along  the  coast,  quite  un- 
broken by  the  sea.  This  was  the  result  of  an  upheaval 
in  1878.  Instantaneous.  Seen  by  Mr.  Neilson  the 
missionary.  Accompanied  by  tidal  wave.  A  trader 
man  woke  up  next  morning,  things  so  changed, 
thought  he  had  delirium  tremens.  Half  the  harbour 
quite  shallow  now.  Largest  ships  cannot  enter. 
The  elevation  was  thirty-two  feet.  Later  a  further 


JET.  38]  THE  NEW   HEBRIDES  407 

elevation  of  sixteen.  Quite  local,  affecting  only  as 
far  as  Sulphur  Bay,  say  one  and  a  half  miles,  the  end 
quite  distinct  where  the  normal  beach  resumes,  z>. 
only  one  and  a  half  miles  disturbed:  no  appearance 
of  fault. 

'  In  Tongoa  nation,  native  tradition  has  it  that  Api 
and  all  the  Shepherd  group  formed  one  island  (Tongoa, 
Tongariki,  Buninga,  Ewose,  Valla,  Api,  and  two  small 
islets,  Laika,  Tevata,  and  a  small  rock),  which  was  de- 
pressed during  a  volcanic  disturbance.  All  life  was 
destroyed.  Island  reinhabited  for  upwards  of  eight 
generations.  One  man  was  saved  inside  a  native 
drum.  This  is  a  well-known  tradition.  The  mission- 
ary has  used  the  drum  in  his  preaching  as  a  symbol 
of  Christ.  There  are  no  indications  in  these  islands 
of  elevation.  Tradition  also  of  a  large  island  existing 
called  Buleiwo,  to  the  west  of  Emae,  where  Cook's 
reef  is  now  situated. 

'  Evidence  of  elevation  very  distinct  in  other  islands, 
especially  at  Nguna  Bay  in  Efate,  and  at  Eromanga 
and  at  Dillon's  Bay,  also  Havannah  Harbour.  Few 
feet  of  tide,  five  or  four  feet. 

'  Ashore  in  whale-boat.  No  sign  of  life.  Then 
dusky  figures  gathered  one  by  one,  stood  motionless, 
each  with  his  gun,  no  women  or  children.  Very 
threatening  crowd  of  savages,  say  forty  or  fifty,  ranged 
on  open  beach.  Mr.  Gray  went  to  bow,  stood  up, 
waved  hat.  "  Missionary  from  Wassesi."  Magical 
effect,  guns  laid  down,  women  came  out  from  the 
trees.  Men  advanced,  pulled  boat  over  breakers, 
helped  us  ashore. 

*  The  Pure  Savage.  Men  naked  with  three-quarters 
inch  band  of  leather  or  grass.  Women  with  volumi- 
nous short  skirts  in  tiers.  Some  painted  red  or  blue. 
Hair  in  threads,  tied  behind  in  a  thick  bunch.  Fierce, 


408  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1890 

furtive  look.  One  noseless,  another  with  forehead 
battered  in.  Earrings,  Breech-loaders,  Sniders,  half- 
cock,  loaded. 

'  Walk  through  tropical  vegetation,  especially  Pan- 
danus.  After  half  hour  of  gentle  ascent  reached  great 
crater,  many  miles  round,  with  lake  in  centre,  on  left 
the  active  cone  rising  some  seven  or  eight  hundred 
feet  higher.  Total,  eleven  hundred  feet.  Ash  cone, 
pure  fine  ash  dotted  with  lumps  of  scoria,  one  side 
quite  free  from  these  stones,  pure  ash.  Climbed  up  a 
shallow  ravine  to  a  Solfatara,  much  sulphur  about,  bad 
smell,  very  fatiguing,  natives  trod  with  bare  feet  the 
rough  scoria,  very  cutting.  Peles'-hair  scattered  in 
threads  over  every  inch :  some  eighteen  inches  long, 
of  a  pale  horny,  gamboge  colour ;  very  fine,  sometimes 
in  wisps  or  bundles. 

'  Then  to  left  up  crater  rim,  with  unequal  edges, 
sometimes  rising  to  a  point,  then  dipping  to  rise  again, 
about  a  mile  and  a  half  round,  one  mass  of  steam  and 
pale  blue  vapour.  Explosions  nearly  every  two  or 
three  minutes,  like  powder  in  a  quarry.  At  long  inter- 
vals there  were  very  severe,  tremendous  explosions 
without  warning,  a  "  bang "  only  louder  than  loudest 
thunder,  with  trembling  earth.  Superb  display  of  red- 
hot  stones  and  splashes,  shooting  to  an  incredible 
height,  and  clattering  down  in  hundreds.  Shaped  like 
bombs,  carcases  of  sheep,  boomerangs,  shreds  and 
patches,  roots  of  trees,  etc.,  etc.  —  indescribable  forms. 

'  Greeted  with  one  of  these  when  within  twenty 
yards  of  crater  lips  —  pelted  with  stone.  They  were 
most  alarming  —  made  one  spring  back,  then  watch 
overhead  to  dodge.  Dust  like  rolling  smoke  exactly. 
Brown.  After  some  hundreds  of  yards'  walk,  steam 
rolling  all  about,  came  to  a  clear  glimpse,  lurid  fire. 
Watched,  saw  something  like  a  fountain  spouting,  also 


&T.  38]  THE  NEW   HEBRIDES  409 

a  boiling  pond  at  the  side,  a  smaller  one  spouting 
some  yards  off;  but  the  vision  closed  tantalisingly  just 
when  you  thought  you  had  made  out  something. 
Then  further  on  a  perfect  view  from  an  ash  cornice, 
lower  down,  at  just  over  the  focus.  Very  precarious 
standpoint.  But  what  a  spectacle !  The  fountain 
resolved  itself  into  a  dome  of  fire  (shape  of  a  bell-jar 
or  cathedral  dome)  of  streaming  lava,  almost  white 
heat,  changing  immediately  into  a  lurid  red,  boiling  up 
and  exploding  every  few  seconds,  bespattering  the 
walls  of  the  funnel  with  red-hot  lava.  These  did  not 
trickle  down  like  water.  They  stuck  as  they  fell,  very 
curious,  as  if  it  was  putty,  never  budged,  cooled  black 
almost  immediately.  Occasionally  they  fell  back  into 
the  pot,  but  the  form  did  not  alter. 

'  At  one  side  of  this  fountain  was  a  seething  linn  of 
swirling  fire  —  all  colours  of  red  writhing  about.  Sur- 
mounted with  steam.  Some  distance  back  another 
little  pot  spouting  away.  Beyond  that  three-fourths 
of  the  area  of  the  funnel  was  shrouded  in  steam  and 
blue  vapour.  No  sulphurous  colouring  as  at  Etna. 
Probably  whole  crater  is  full  of  lava,  with  septal 
between,  a  series  of  funnels. 

'  A  great  spectacle !  The  suddenness  of  it.  You 
come  up  smiling  —  awe-stricken  in  two  minutes.  A 
surprise.  You  are  totally  taken  aback  by  what  you 
see.  Not  the  extent  of  it:  the  fierceness  of  it,  the 
wickedness  of  it,  the  instantaneousness  of  it.  It  lives. 
Wonderful  —  this  unwatched  thing  working  away 
there.  Royalist  officers  agree  that  crater,  where  lava 
s \varn,  was  two  or  three  hundred  feet  deep.  This  would 
give  a  hundred  feet  for  height  of  dome.  Stones  flew 
up  as  high  again,  certainly  say  five  hundred  feet. 
Surely  this  at  least  is  not  exaggerated. 

'  While  peering  over  this  cornice  Mr.  .  .  .  [?]  pho- 


4-IO  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1890 

tographed  the  scene.  Asked  two  others  and  myself 
to  sit  down  while  he  took  us.  Position  taken.  "  Don't 
look  back,"  he  said,  "  or  move  for  anything  less  than 
the  size  of  a  brick.  I  will  warn  you  if  anything  bigger 
comes."  Photo  over,  we  had  scarcely  risen  when  there 
was  a  terrifying  report,  and  a  bewildering  shower  of 
molten  projectiles  rained  around  us.  One  block  the 
size  and  shape  of  a  small  sheep  descended  with  a 
sullen  thud  on  the  very  spot  where  a  minute  ago  I  had 
sat.  It  was  not  near  the  spot,  but  across  the  very 
mark  in  the  soft  ashes.  I  took  my  revenge  by  light- 
ing my  cigar  at  it. 

'  Very  fine  panorama  as  we  mounted  the  top  again 
to  descend  on  the  other  side.  Circle  of  wooded 
mountains.  Sun  slanting  over  the  lake  below.  De- 
scent like  coming  down  a  snow  mountain  on  the  Alps. 
The  natural  slope  of  fine  dust.  As  we  passed  along 
(far  below)  the  direction  of  the  wind,  had  to  put  up 
sun  umbrellas  to  shield  ourselves  from  the  volcanic 
dust  which  rattled  like  fierce  hail  upon  us. 

'  Here  our  guides  sped  off  to  their  village,  frightened 
to  go  farther,  paid  in  tobacco  sticks.  Left  volcano 
about  4.30.  Moonlight  walk  through  tropical  vege- 
tation, very  thick ;  footpath ;  the  feature,  tree-ferns. 
Those  require  moonlight,  and  overhead,  as  it  then 
was.  Like  gigantic  ostrich  feathers,  translucent  fronds. 
"  Log"  passed  along  line,  "  Hole,"  " Overhead,"  " Snag." 
Here  and  there  a  luminous  fungus.  Size  of  a  large 
button,  vividly  phosphorescent,  like  a  small  velvet 
button  soft  and  flexible  to  the  touch.  When  travel- 
ling at  night,  missionaries  stick  one  on  a  native's  back, 
who  goes  on  in  front. 

'  Came  to  a  native  village  about  eight  o'clock,  first 
a  magnificent  Platz  —  oval  sward  surrounded  with 
enormous  spreading  banyan-trees,  where  dances  and 


JET.  38]  THE  NEW   HEBRIDES  4 1  I 

feasts  are  held.  Then  reed-cane  fence,  three  feet 
high,  to  keep  out  pigs ;  same  reeds  as  are  used  for 
arrows,  quite  straight,  yellow.  Women  came  out, 
dogs  barked,  children  trooped  round.  No.  men. 
Where  ?  Away  drinking  kava,  i.e.  "  at  the  public- 
house."  Women  brought  cocoanut  milk,  most  re- 
freshing [with  ?]  water. 

'  Ten  minutes  farther  met  men  drinking.  Some 
stupid  with  kava. 

'.  .  .  [?]  very  rugged  and  almost  dangerous  path 
with  abrupt  descents,  reached  shore.  Went  aboard.' 

'June  28. 

'  Not  under  way  till  4.30.  Eromanga  reached 
about  twelve.  Coasted.  Coral  plateau,  tier  above 
tier,  covered  with  vegetation  —  no  special  feature. 
Coral  cliffs  met  at  an  obtuse  angle.  Bit  of  beach, 
creek,  expanded  mouth  of  good  brook  or  stream. 
Ashore  after  dinner  at  one.  Crossed  in  boat,  pulled 
and  pioneered  by  two  natives,  one  the  son  of  the 
murderer  of  Williams,  and  the  leading  elder !  Two 
other  brothers  also  about  station,  both  members  now.' 

'  Sunday,  June  29. 

'  After  very  nasty  night,  heavy  sea  and  rain,  arrived 
at  Fili  Harbour.1  A  wide  bay,  then  an  inner  bay, 
like  Sydney  Harbour.  Islands.  Lagoon  running  up 
six  miles  across  nearest  neck.  All  elevated  coral  reef 
—  typical. 

'  After  breakfast,  went  off  to  island,  Fila,  for  service. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Michelsen  tried  to  Christianise  this 
some  years  ago.  Couldn't  even  live  on  the  island, 
but  made  their  home  on  small  island  adjoining.  No 
success.  Now  the  whole  island  is  Christian,  an  out- 
station  of  Mr.  Mackenzie.  We  found  a  fine  church. 

1  On  Efate  or  Sandwich. 


412  HENRY   DRUMMOND 

Service  just  over.  Warm  reception  on  the  beach. 
Held  another  service.  Native  hymn,  then  a  native 
read  and  prayed  at  length.  English  hymn,  and  then 
I  spoke  twenty  minutes,  2  Cor.  iii.  18.  Mr.  Macdonald 
translated  afterwards.  Very  attentive.  After  service 
went  to  mission-house.  Natives  brought  puddings  of 
yams ;  ditto  taro  (cooked  on  Saturday) ;  both  very 
good.  Also  cocoanuts.  Charming  spot.  Great 
drums  in  a  cluster,  like  Stonehenge,  in  manse  garden. 
These  had  been  carved  and  painted :  sounding-board 
worn  thin  with  use,  now  going  to  decay.  Small  ban- 
yan taken  root  on  top  of  one  of  them.  Heathenism 
will  soon  be  forgotten. 

'  Site  of  Franceville  here.  A  commune.  On  paper 
a  fine  city,  with  municipal  buildings,  and  streets  all 
planned  and  named.  From  the  sea  a  single  one-story 
house  is  visible  on  the  whole  expanse  of  forest.  I 
believe  another  exists,  but  did  not  see  it.  The  first 
house  is  a  store,  the  second  a  doctor's  house.  For 
the  patients  I  looked  in  vain.  The  Commune  col- 
lapsed. One  after  another  withdrew.  But  there  are 
one  or  two  planters  about  here  who  grow  coffee,  etc. 
Plantation  young  yet,  but  prospect  fair.  Planters  are 
French  ;  one  is  Portuguese. 

'  Rowed  back  to  steamer  to  lunch.  After,  accom- 
panied by  Mr.  Fraser,  to  visit  Mr.  Mackenzie's  mission- 
station.  Were  rowed  (four  native  crew,  splendid  men) 
ashore.  Walked  through  French  and  Portuguese 
plantations,  cocoanut.  Saw  the  nut  sprout.  Reached 
lagoon,  like  a  still  river  of  emerald  green,  two  hundred 
yards  broad,  white  coral  sand,  tumult  of  green  creep- 
ers rushing  down  into  it  from  lofty  branches  of  trees. 
Bastard  cotton-tree  with  its  Padella  lights  of  flowers, 
as  large  as  saucers,  lemon-yellow,  little  brown  candle 
rising  from  centre.' 


Mi.  38]  THE  NEW   HEBRIDES  413 

'  Monday,  June  30. 

'  Left  at  ten  for  Havannah  Harbour.  Temperature 
at  H.  H.,  never  rises  above  92°.  There  are  never 
mosquitoes.  Mr.  D.  does  not  use  curtains  in  his 
house.  Almost  none  of  the  missionaries  do.  None 
complain  of  heat.' 

'Tuesday,  July  i. 

'  Left  at  seven  for  Tongoa.  Flying-fish  common, 
sometimes  seen  walking  about  on  surface.  Occasional 
shark ;  few  birds.  On  the  whole,  life  is  scarce. 

'  Tongoa,  Tongariki,  and  the  neighbouring  islands 
are  probably  the  tops  of  a  large  submerged  island. 
They  are  all  like  tops  of  hills.  Contain  almost  no 
flat  acres.  Very  healthy  in  consequence.  Fever  little 
known  on  Tongoa. 

'  Earthquakes  very  frequent  in  all  the  islands.  On 
Tongoa  counted  seventeen  in  one  day.  Can  see  them 

—  see  the  banyan-trees  twisting  and  shaking.' 

*  TONGOA,  July  2. 

'  Arrived  about  three.  Worst  anchorage  in  group. 
A  beautiful  island,  black  sand  showing  its  volcanic 
nature,  apart  from  the  rounded  cones  and  waving  lines 
of  the  craters,  and  richest  possible  foliage.  Cones  and 
craters  always  manage  to  depart  from  the  conventional 
type,  and  never  announce  themselves  as  volcanic. 
Great  assemblage  of  natives  on  beach,  red  cloth  pre- 
dominating ;  very  picturesque ;  fires  smoking.  Every 
man  different.  Some  had  red  handkerchiefs  loosely 
knotted  round  neck,  a  turban  of  same,  with  two  waving 
feathers  over  his  neck  or  in  his  ears.  One  woman 
wisp  of  yellow  pigs'  bristles  tied  in  each  ear.  Wood 
for  Mr.  Smaill's  house  lying  on  beach.  Each  man 
seized  a  block  or  sheet  of  iron  —  each  boy  and  woman 

—  and  carried  down  to  boats  for  shipment.    Animated 


414  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1890 

scene,  all  done  for  nothing,  being  for  missi.  Bought 
a  club  for  a  shilling  from  an  old  savage.  Stroll  up 
with  Mr.  Michelsen,  steep  pull,  hot,  ferns,  flowers, 
stones,  stopped  us  at  every  yard.  Mission-house  on 
flattish  ridge,  facing  the  sea,  dipping  down  on  other 
side  into  a  large  shallow  depression,  like  [a]  crater. 

'  Scene  on  beach  next  morning  (July  3d)  waiting  for 
steamer.  One  handsome  damsel  in  red  gown  picking 
her  teeth  vigorously  with  a  carving-knife ;  rim  of 
strawberry  basket  on  head,  one  or  two  wildflowers 
stuck  in  it;  hair,  close  cut,  except  island  on  top, 
which  the  basket  fringed  like  a  coral-reef. 

'  One  group  in  a  canoe.  Tallest  savage  on 
island,  white  vest  open,  bedecked  with  new  red  hand- 
kerchief, trying  to  count  5^.  and  three  halfpennies, 
very  dirty,  to  see  if  he  could  make  out  a  shilling  from 
them ;  several  helping  the  arithmetic ;  deep  problem. 
Fine  figure ;  hair  bushy,  swelling  all  round  in  a  ring ; 
coloured  white  with  coral  lime ;  on  top  of  this  a  red 
handkerchief  crown,  twined  round  with  a  tender  spray 
of  convolvulus.  Very  striking  figure.  N.B.  —  The 
ornamentation  is  never  overdone.  If  a  flower  is  stuck 
anywhere,  it  is  the  size  of  a  button,  never  a  showy 
flower,  though  there  are  myriads  everywhere.  Some- 
times a  fern  stuck  in  the  ear,  or  two  white  cock's 
feathers.  Many  a  comb  or  scratcher.  No  sameness. 
Most  men  have  shirts  and  a  loin  cloth,  red,  over 
them.  Women  have  either  skirts  of  calico,  spotted 
and  striped,  or  a  nightgown.  Several  men  have  old 
slouch  hats;  most  uncovered.  Bracelets  made  of  a 
creeper's  stem,  or  boar's  tusks ;  no  anklets.  Many 
chewing  sugar-cane,  held  in  both  hands,  most  monkey- 
like.  Many  women  carry  neat  native  baskets  woven 
with  pandanus. 

'  Tongoa  small,  especially  luxuriant  even  for   the 


^T.  38]  THE  NEW   HEBRIDES  415 

Pacific.  Remarkable  variety  of  foliage  conspicuous 
on  all  islands,  but  especially  here.  Every  shade  of 
green,  wooded  to  the  top  of  highest  hills.  Natives 
very  kind  and  quiet,  in  spite  of  the  butcher's  knife 
most  of  them  carry.  One  half-naked  fellow  followed 
us  up  path  with  two  feet  of  cold  steel  in  his  hands. 
They  use  these  for  clearing  their  way  through  the 
bush.  House  four  hundred  feet;  grand  view  of  sea 
and  island.  Mr.  Michelsen's  station  a  model  of  neat- 
ness. Trim,  terraced  garden,  glowing  with  balsam, 
roses,  and  golden  egg-plant.  All  buildings  very 
roomy,  built  with  his  own  hand.  Has  poultry,  pea- 
cock, ducks,  goats,  even  horses ;  teacher's  premises  — 
perfect.  Most  unassuming  of  men,  simple  Norwegian. 
Sat  down  opposite  bread-fruit  tree.  Asked  native  to 
taste.  Went  to  adjoining  hut ;  brought  one  out  from 
oven,  like  dough  of  very  French  rolls.  My  favourite 
native  food.  At  supper  tasted  it  again,  also  queen- 
cakes  made  from  arrowroot  (native)  and  cocoanut 
milk;  very  delicious.  Taro  mashed  like  potatoes; 
great  improvement,  as  the  hard  texture  is  the  chief 
distinction ;  white  like  potatoes.  A  dish  of  native 
mushroom,  a  fungus  which  grows  mostly  on  the  ban- 
yan-tree, stewed  in  cocoanut  juice,  a  great  delicacy. 
Saw  the  luminous  centipede,  i^  inches  long,  a  wrig- 
gling yellow  packthread,  luminous  in  spots  along  the 
body,  at  least  as  I  saw  it,  rather  than  glowing  as  a 
whole.  The  chief  effect  comes  when  it  is  crushed, 
when  everything  is  phosphorescent.  .  .  .  The  great 
trumpet-shell,  now  rare,  with  smaller  shell  patched  in 
for  mouthpiece,  probably  the  origin  of  the  trumpet. 
Sound  very  similar,  and  not  unvaried.  Talking  of 
music,  an  old  fellow  on  the  beach  had  a  pan-pipe,  on 
which  he  ran  down  the  scale.  Mr.  Atkinson  bought 
it  for  me. 


41 6  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1890 

'  Mr.  M.  has  been  eleven  years  on  Tongoa.  All 
Christian.  Three  years  ago  the  last  cannibal  feast. 
Going  up  hill  was  introduced  to  a  man  who  had  been 
at  it,  the  "piece  de  resistance"  being  his  own  half- 
brother.  At  Tongoa,  in  the  moonlight,  on  the  ve- 
randah, heard  evening  song  going  up  from  hut  after 
hut  on  this  side  and  on  that.  Less  than  four  years 
ago  the  missionary  had  seen  from  this  same  verandah 
the  smoke  ascending  from  roasting  human  flesh. 

'  While  I  was  eating  my  bread-fruit,  word  was  passed 
round  that  I  was  a  purchaser  of  clubs,  etc.  All  that 
afternoon  things  were  brought  to  me.  Was  offered 
several  bundles  of  arrows,  carefully  tied  up  at  the 
points  with  black  feathers  and  matting  (small  lancet- 
like  heads,  very  slender  and  fine).  I  wondered  why. 
Asked  were  these  poisoned  ?  Yes.  Again  and  again 
they  were  brought  me. 

' "  Where  you  get  him  you  put  along  arrow  ? "  "  No 
savez."  "  You  get  him  on  tree  ? "  "  No  savez."  "  Get 
him  on  ground  ?  "  "  Ei,  no."  "  Where  you  get  him  ?  " 
"  Put  him  along  man  he  finish  "  —  i.e.  thrust  it  into  a 
dead  body.  Blood-poisoning.  Strange  fact;  a  body 
with  the  life  gone  out  of  it  is  one  of  the  acutest 
poisons  known. 

'  On  Tongoa  causes  of  decrease  of  population :  early 
marriages,  destroying  function ;  abortion ;  suckling 
children  till  three  or  four  years  old;  young  bloods 
going  off  to  labour  traffic,  leaving  only  old  men  and 
children  at  home ;  foreign  diseases  only  to  a  very  small 
extent.  On  Api  infanticide  is  common  to  save  bother. 

'  The  bountifulness  of  these  islands  —  on  Tongoa 
natives  are  very  well  off.  Far  better  than  the  Africans. 
Yam,  taro,  banana,  cocoanut,  bread-fruit,  are  staple 
diet.  Better  off  than  the  crofters  in  the  Highlands. 
Fish,  shell-fish,  fungi. 


&r.  38]  THE  NEW  HEBRIDES  4 1  7 

'Left  Tongoa  about  11.30  [July  2d]  for  Api. 
Crossed  open  water  for  an  hour,  with  two  shreds  of 
rock  in  mid-channel.  The  water  is  very  shallow  here, 
bearing  out  the  submergence  tradition.  No  coral 
reef  on  Tongoa ;  all  volcanic.  Api  at  first  volcanic, 
then  reef  growing  along  shore,  finally  elevated  reef 
visible  on  terrace  inland.  The  out-station  of  Mr. 
Eraser. 

'  Coasting  along  Api,  approaching  Borumba,  Mr. 
Eraser's  station  —  two  sea  .  .  .  three  miles  apart,  very 
gentle  curve,  like  an  unstrung  bow;  land  rising  as 
usual,  but  more  gradual,  and  much  tumbled  about ; 
neither  hills  in  the  immediate  foreground  nor  plateau, 
but  broken  hilly  country,  with  many  valleys  and  de- 
pressions, all  timbered.  Fever  here  and  mosquitoes. 
Five  different  languages,  not  dialects,  make  work  very 
difficult.' 

'Julys- 

'  Planting  new  station  for  Mr.  Smaill.  Bad  anchor- 
age about  ten.  Two  sweeping  bays ;  high  point  be- 
tween is  the  site.  Coral-reef  with  foam  upon  it.  To 
land,  wade  over  coral-reef  with  shoes  on ;  delicate 
branches,  antlers,  cauliflower,  almost  sacrilege  to  walk 
on  them.  Blue  star-fish  like  guttapercha.  Walk  along 
sand.  Halt  under  tree.  Native  women  brought  four- 
teen young  cocoanuts.  Stiff  climb,  and  crawl  to  pro- 
posed site.  Poor  Mrs.  Smaill,  what  a  home !  She 
was  with  us,  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Annand,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Michelsen,  and  their  two  little  girls  (five  and 
six),  and  Mr.  Atkinson  from  Ceylon.  More  cocoa- 
nuts  ;  roasted  plantains  whole  on  fire.  Return  to 
lunch  on  beach.  Table  landed,  captain  sent  ashore 
victuals ;  more  cocoanuts  for  water.  Awful  crowd  of 
savages  surrounded  us  as  we  ate.  Never  saw  white 
ladies  before,  probably,  nor  plates,  knives,  and  forks. 

2E 


418  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1890 

Every  man  (fifty  at  least)  stark  naked,  except  for 
infinitesimal  strip  between  legs,  turned  into  a  belt  of 
bark,  back  and  front.  Women  wear  a  scant  loin-cloth 
of  bark.  All  armed,  mostly  rifles,  cocked.  Several 
had  bows,  with  sheafs  of  poisoned  arrows.  One  face 
painted  vermilion.  Little  tattooing.  Necklace  of 
white  small  bead-like  shells  on  a  few.  Many  armlets, 
beads  or  bark,  with  a  pipe  stuck  in.  Some  with  coral, 
a  sprig  of  leaves,  bracelet  of  tortoiseshell.  Many  with 
diseases  of  the  leg,  bones  soft.  This  is  common  all 
over  group.  Men  kept  gathering  from  far  and  near 
all  afternoon  to  watch  the  show,  especially  to  see  stores 
landed.  Immense  curiosity  as  each  article  was  car- 
ried (wading)  across  the  shallow  strips  where  the  ship's 
boats  stuck.  Cane  deck-chair  very  exciting,  as  it  was 
in  their  line ;  use  undreamt  of  till  I  sat  down  in  it 
amid  great  laughter. 

'  No  cloth  here ;  everything  native  except  guns. 
None  of  us  knew  this  language.  Mr.  M.  had  one 
native  with  him  who  knew  the  language,  and  whom 
he  could  speak  to  in  another  lingo,  so  a  little  com- 
munication was  possible. 

'  Volcano  of  Lofevi  in  full  foreground,  a  superb  vol- 
canic cone  of  great  grace  rising  out  of  the  sea,  with  a 
single  momentary  change  of  slope  at  one  side,  and 
a  piece  of  rockwork  to  balance  it  at  other.  Slight 
abrupt  tilting  of  whole  from  the  abrupt  straight  line 
of  base  when  seen  against  horizon. 

'  Landing  of  goods  eagerly  watched.  Climax  reached 
when  two  native  women,  teachers'  wives,  stepped  ashore 
in  full  dress,  i.e.  nightgowns,  their  babies  slung  with 
calico.  Immense  sensation.  Pots  and  pans  much 
criticised,  especially  frying-pans.  Iron  water-tank 
painted  red  much  discussed.  Great  drumming  on  it. 
Packet  of  native  bows  and  arrows  from  Eromanga 


JEr.  38]  THE  NEW   HEBRIDES  419 

greeted  with  lively  gesticulation.  No  one  would 
touch  it  at  first,  then  picked  up  gingerly  with  one 
finger  and  thumb  by  one  brave,  and  hastily  laid 
ashore.  Probably  frightened  for  poison,  as  arrows 
were  very  delicate. 

4  Two  tents  pitched,  two  huts  also  made  from  roofing- 
iron.  Each  native  got  three  sticks  tobacco  for  his 
day's  work.  Full  moon  at  night,  surf  roaring,  glorious 
scene,  perfect  temperature. 

'  Confab  on  beach.  "  Now  Missi  come ;  no  more 
war;  all  change  now.  Sing-song  to-morrow,  kill  pig, 
dance."  Celebrate  the  end  of  heathenism,  and  arrival 
of  missionary.  Real  object  is  to  make  an  end  of  war. 
One  thing  they  all  know,  that  when  he  comes  there  is 
peace.  On  Mr.  Annand's  island  the  canoes  from 
Malokolo  had  not  visited  for  a  generation.  Now  they 
come  constantly.  Life  is  safe.  On  other  islands, 
where  the  peace-making  power  of  the  missionary  is 
unknown,  no  doubt  they  receive  him  for  what  they 
think  they  will  get  out  of  him.  In  these  cases  at  first 
they  will  be  friendly,  but  when  they  see  what  he  has 
really  come  for,  after  he  can  speak  to  them,  the  trouble 
begins.  They  had  not  counted  the  cost ;  now  will  not 
pay  it.  For  it  means  renunciation  of  heathen  customs 
and  immorality. 

'  Holothuria  examined.  He  was  choke  full  of  coral. 
No  doubt  he  chews  up  vast  quantities.  Helps  denu- 
dation of  reef,  and  makes  sand.  Possibly  these  pieces 
which  strew  the  beach  like  inches  of  white  slate-pencil 
have  passed  through  the  bodies  of  worms. 

*  Induction  soiree  in  house  made  of  four  window- 
sashes,  two  doors  for  roof,  iron  for  sides ;  tea,  bread, 
butter,  cheese. 

4  Many  murders  on  this  beach  and  cannibal  feasts. 
Notorious  district.  All  cannibals  here,  and  armed. 


42O  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1890 

Land   next  year,   and  probably  there   will   not  be  a 
weapon  on  the  shore.' 

'  Friday,  July  4. 

'  Got  on  board  by  breakfast,  and  steamed  off  for 
Sandwich  Harbour,  Port  Sandwich,  Malokolo,  at  nine 
o'clock.  Malokolo  has  the  worst  reputation  of  any  in 
the  group.  The  missionaries  make  little  headway. 

'  Passed  Lofevi.  Passed  along  Ambrym.  Volcano 
on  inconspicuous  part  of  a  central  ridge  composed  of 
several  hills ;  not  prominent.  Through  telescope 
seemed  to  be  steaming  distinctly,  but  may  have  been 
cloud. 

'  At  three  entered  Port  Sandwich,  another  noble 
harbour,  quite  landlocked.  One  buoy  here  —  only 
one  I  have  seen  on  the  group.  "  Is  the  Royalist 
there  ?  "  "  There  she  is,"  said  Captain  King,  with  his 
glass.  Went  on  board  with  Lieutenant,  who  had 
called  for  mails.  Captain  Davis.' 

'  Saturday,  July  5. 

'  Jogged  along,  mostly  under  sail,  reaching  Havannah 
Harbour,  Efate,  about  eleven  morning.  Mr.  Macdon- 
ald,  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Macdonald  (elect  of  Santo), 
and  Mr.  Lindt,  boarded  us,  and  took  me  off  for  day's 
picnic  to  Island  of  .  .  .  ?  (See  Mr.  Macdonald's 
Oceania?)  Heathen  village ;  man  spearing  fish.  Folks 
all  off  on  mainland,  clearing  plantations.  Few  idlers 
about.  One,  seven  years  in  New  Zealand,  spoke 
pretty  fair  English.  Stroll  to  caves.  Immense,  finely 
shaped  dome,  very  lofty,  scooped  [out  of]  calcareous 
sandy  hill  by  sea  action ;  probably  a  current  struck  it 
at  this  point.  Rude  inscriptions  on  walls,  made  by 
natives  //////////////  °o0o°oo.  These  lines  (notches), 
they  say,  represent  lives  of  men.  The  spirits 
notch  them  each  time  a  man  dies.  Idea,  perhaps, 
taken  from  their  dreams.  Three  [?]  are  notched  each 


/Er.  38]  THE  NEW   HEBRIDES  42  I 

time  a  great  man  dies.  Only  on  one  side.  Lindt 
photo 'd  these  with  magnesium  light.  Drums  in  vil- 
lage, obscene ;  thirty  or  forty  in  cluster,  longest  group 
I  have  seen.  Immense  labour  to  cut  these  with  stone 
adzes  in  former  generation.  Celebrations  for  dead 
last  a  year  or  two ;  most  elaborate  customs.  Dance. 
Drummer  in  centre,  then  men  advance  in  pairs,  with 
spears ;  face  each  other,  dance,  others  join.  Then  all 
join  hands  and  dance  round  and  round  the  drums. 
Women  by  themselves  dancing.' 

'  HAVANNAH,  Sunday,  July  6. 

'  Grow  anything,  no  manuring  for  eight  or  nine 
years  —  on  coffee.  Unsifted,  sun-dried  article,  ^70 
per  ton,  value  at  2000  Ibs.  to  the  ton,  say  ^75.  Pep- 
per, allspice,  cocoa,  rice,  sugar-cane ;  three  crops  of 
Indian  corn  per  annum  =  Telia  flint  [?]  variety.  Two 
kinds  of  soil,  volcanic  centre,  coral  lime  round  it, 
equally  suit  different  crops.  Good  coffee  land  every- 
where, but  not  near  water  in  many  cases.  Water 
needed  for  pulping,  etc.  But  spices  would  do  every- 
where. Plenty  of  rain;  safely  100  inches  per  annum. 
Rain  every  week  the  year  round.  Never  flood,  never 
drought,  the  rainfall  is  so  distributed. 

'  Labourers  from  adjoining  islands ;  thirty  of  these. 
Feed  themselves.  ^"4,  45-.  per  year  is  paid  in  wages 
for  labour  per  man;  and  £10  for  the  recruiter  who 
finds  the  men  in  his  cutter.  The  £4,  4^.  is  not  paid 
to  the  natives  until  the  three  years'  engagement  is  up. 

'  First  year  make  a  nursery  of  coffee  plants,  then 
clean  land.  Next  year  you  are  a  year  on  your  way, 
having  the  nursery.  In  three  years  you  have  your 
first  crop.  There  is  no  disease,  no  manure  is  needed. 
Almost  the  sole  risk  is  a  hurricane,  which  may  blow 
off  the  flowers,  or  at  the  drying  season  a  showery  day 


422  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1890 

may  interfere.  But  artificial  drying  here,  as  elsewhere, 
will  be  introduced  in  time.  The  natives  eat  yams  and 
bananas  with  cocoanuts  and  taro.  When  they  run 
out,  a  boat-load  can  be  bought  for  a  few  sticks  of  to- 
bacco, so  that  a  few  extra  shillings,  scarcely  pounds, 
are  enough  to  keep  all  in  abundance. 

'  Owing  to  the  slopes  there  is  choice  of  land  for  dif- 
ferent kinds  of  planting;  one  kind  grown  on  shore, 
another  higher  up.  Bananas  alone  would  pay  splen- 
didly. Three  and  a  half  days  nearer  to  Sydney  than 
Fiji.  All  the  year  steamers  with  bananas  run  from 
Fiji  to  Sydney.  The  three  and  a  half  days  sooner 
would  deliver  the  fruit  in  prime  condition  and  avoid 
the  heavy  depreciation  at  present  existing. 

'  Fever  not  serious  anywhere,  and  most  islands  quite 
free  from  it.  Havannah  Harbour  has  a  bad  reputa- 
tion, but  all  much  exaggerated.  Ships  of  war  met  in 
group,  Dart  and  Royalist  had  seven  per  cent,  on  sick 
list,  all  slight  cases. 

'  French  population,  adult  males,  on  group  may 
number  sixty  in  all.  English,  perhaps  ten,  excluding 
missionaries.  Land  may  be  bought  for  almost  noth- 
ing. A  couple  of  old  muskets  and  a  bag  of  tobacco 
will  buy  an  estate.  A  good  deal  of  land  has  been 
"  chapped "  already,  especially  by  French,  who  have 
bits  on  most  islands,  never  touched  of  course.  No 
one  ever  comes  near  them.  Boundaries  are  very 
dubious.  Sometimes  a  stone  mark  is  used.  Natives 
are  very  fair  about  these  purchases,  and  respect  them 
loyally,  provided  the  right  owner  or  owners  have  been 
treated  with  in  the  first  instance.  Natives  have  often 
professed  to  sell  land  as  theirs ;  when  the  real  owner 
turns  up  months  or  years  later,  a  row  is  inevitable. 
Some  of  the  missionaries  have  paid  for  their  land  to 
one  "  owner  "  after  another.  Unavoidable,  for  there  is 


Mr.  38]  THE  NEW   HEBRIDES  423 

no  tribunal.  The  desideratum  is  an  authentic  means 
of  conveyance  and  registration  of  titles. 

'  English  skies  in  New  Hebrides,  not  blistering, 
burnished  skies.  White  clouds  as  at  home,  and  even 
dull  days.  Constant  light  winds  (trades)  blow. 

'  Quite  true  about  the  gayfish,  red,  striped,  barred, 
box-shaped,  etc.  One  exquisite  thing,  a  dart  of  brill- 
iant blue  or  purple.  A  pure-blue  starfish.  But  the 
scenic  effect  is  not  quite  what  one  had  expected,  any 
more  than  parrots  make  a  great  feature  on  an  Austral- 
ian landscape.  They  are  really  inconspicuous  in  the 
woods,  and  fly  so  fast  you  only  see  a  general  dark  form. 

'  Few  seaweeds.  I  question  if  our  seaweedy  pools 
are  not  more  lovely.  White  coral  sand  does  give  brill- 
iancy to  the  water,  but  there  is  much  coral  island 
without  any. 

'  Corals  individually  are  exquisite,  but  do  not  expect 
to  see  them  like  what  they  are  at  Kensington.  Shells, 
ditto.  The  nacreous  shells  are  all  covered  with  mem- 
brane. The  speckled  ones  are  all  right,  but  the  ma- 
jority are  swathed.  The  corals  are  swathed  in  gelatine, 
coloured  slime.  Like  a  clump  of  cauliflowers  half 
withered.  Like  large  fungi  or  mushrooms.  Faint 
purple  or  pinkish.  Red  coralinus  grows  in  deep 
water.  I  am  speaking  of  what  you  can  see  in  a  boat. 
Irregular  bottom  is  a  feature.  Like  sailing  over  a 
submerged  flower  and  shrub  garden.  When  the  tide 
is  out  it  is  not  beautiful.  The  colour  is  dirty-brown 
or  black,  as  if  smoked  with  a  torch.  Rough  and  un- 
even, like  a  field  frost-bound  —  very  hard  to  walk  on 
with  bare  feet.  "  Still  lagoons "  you  see  generally 
roughened  with  wind.  "  Calm  retreats "  are  not 
common. 

'  White  ants l  on  all  the  islands ;  furniture  destroyed. 

1  This  and  the  following  paragraphs  taken  from  stray  notes. 


424  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1890 

Some  make  tunnels  in  the  trees;  small  hills  not  so 
large  as  in  New  South  Wales. 

'  In  Tongoa  there  is  a  native  turkey ;  black  bird, 
long  legs  and  neck ;  red  wattles,  scarcely  size  of  com- 
mon hen,  lays  eggs,  one  above  another,  sometimes  to 
the  number  of  ten.  The  birds  leave  them  to  hatch 
there,  but  from  time  to  time  change  the  order,  digging 
up  the  deeper  ones,  which  have  most  heat,  and  placing 
them  on  the  top.  These  birds  are  also  found  in  Efate. 
In  Tongoa  they  lay  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Fu- 
marole.  This  is  some  acres  in  extent,  faintly  steam- 
ing. There  are  two  such  places  in  Tongoa. 

'  Ascendency  of  the  English  Language.  —  Formerly 
chief's  sons  and  the  leading  bloods  were  sent  for  a 
year  to  another  island  to  learn  the  language  for  trade 
purposes.  This  is  now  stopped,  owing  to  the  rapid 
rise  of  pigeon-English.  All  trade  is  done  in  that  lan- 
guage ;  French  labour  boats  have  to  use  it.  Remem- 
ber the  convict  at  Noumea  speaking  to  the  native 
prisoners  in  English:  "  Do  not  like  wee-wee  man."1 

'  Process  of  Evangelising  an  Island.  —  Missionary 
settles  in  a  village  often  by  request  of  natives.  Either 
(i)  they  want  a  "missi,"  as  he  will  see  justice  done  be- 
tween them  and  passing  trader  —  a  court  of  appeal: 
he  is  known  as  always  on  the  side  of  the  natives ;  (2) 
the  islanders  may  have  shot  so  many  boats'  crews  that 
they  want  him  as  a  guarantee  of  good  behaviour ;  (3) 
labour  men  returned  may  have  been  influenced  in 
Queensland  and  want  a  teacher;  or  (4)  they  know  that 
Christianity  will  abolish  sorcery,  which  is  the  cause  of 
all  death  and  war.  They  do  want  to  stop  war,  and 
therefore  ask  missionary.  Christianised  natives  never 
carry  firearms,  but  go  unarmed. 

'  Sometimes  the  missionary  comes  on  a  bare  con- 

1  A  sketch  of  the  political  situation  is  not  inserted  here,  as  it  is  now  out  of  date. 


JET.  38]  THE  NEW   HEBRIDES  425 

sent,  extracted  from  the  people,  after  much  discussion 
on  their  part.  This  permission  will  be  given,  and  fol- 
lowed by  repeated  hints,  and  even  requests,  to  leave. 
But  he  sticks  to  it. 

'•Programme. —  He  settles,  builds  on  bought  site. 
Never  wanders  one  hundred  yards  from  door,  learns 
language.  For  a  year  he  may  be  almost  a  prisoner. 
Then  he  extends  his  walks  gradually  till  he  compasses 
all.  Sometimes  the  nearest  village  is  hostile,  the  next 
friendly.  He  may  have  to  go  round  by  open  sea,  or 
be  fired  at.  At  Erornanga,  Mr.  .  .  .  [?]  was  always 
attacked  at  "  the  point,"  unless  he  kept  out  to  sea  till 
he  reached  the  further  villages. 

'  The  Missionaries  have  made  the  Islands  Habitable. 
—  On  several  (Tongoa,  Mai,  etc.)  for  long  not  even 
a  missionary  could  land.  Christianising  comes  before 
civilising,  say  the  missionaries.  Thus,  a  native  from 
a  heathen  village  goes  to  Queensland,  comes  back 
with  box  of  clothes.  Will  sell  them  for  two  sticks  of 
tobacco,  and  return  to  savagedom.  They  have  never 
been  civilised.  Their  heathen  customs  make  it  impos- 
sible. Only  Christianity  can  make  them  give  up  their 
heathenism.  Must  be  made  gentle  men.' 

Drummond's  regular  diary  closes  with  Sunday  6th 
at  Havannah  Harbour.  He  left  it  for  Eromanga,  and 
on  Monday  left  Eromanga  for  Noumea,  the  French 
capital  of  New  Caledonia,  where  he  arrived  on  Wednes- 
day. He  has  one  note  upon  the  place :  '  Amphi- 
theatre of  really  fine  hills ;  tawdry  boulevard  of 
one-  and  two-story  houses,  each  different;  a  central 
square  or  place;  flamboyant  trees,  most  of  their 
growth  still  to  come ;  a  semaphore  station.  Govern- 
ment House  (^1500  a  year).  Lives  =  convicts.' 


426  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1890 

'SYDNEY,  July  21. 

'  Just  stepped  off  steamer.  Have  had  a  wonderful 
time  among  New  Hebrides.  I  do  not  think  I 
ever  had  such  an  interesting  tour  in  my  life.  I 
was  on  Mr.  Paton's  Tanna,  and  saw  all  his  painted 
cannibals.  But  for  the  missionary  with  me,  I 
should  now  be — inside  them.  No  grander  mis- 
sionary work  was  ever  done  than  by  these  N.  H. 
missionaries.  Every  man  is  a  king.' 

Having  seen  one  end  of  the  labour  traffic  in  the 
New  Hebrides,  Drummond  went  on  a  tour  in  Queens- 
land to  find  out  about  the  other.  His  companion  was 
Professor  Rentoul,  of  Melbourne,  and  they  not  only 
investigated  the  facts  about  the  importation  of  the 
Kanakas  to  the  sugar  plantations,  but  inquired  as 
well  into  the  condition  of  the  Queensland  aborigines. 
What  opinions  Drummond  formed  were  stated  by 
him  to  a  representative  of  the  Pall  Mall  Gazette,  and 
published  in  that  paper  on  the  i8th  May,  1892.  He 
corrected  the  proof  himself. 

' "  Below  the  surface  of  this  question  there  lies  a 
story  with  a  world  of  interest.  It  has  its  deep  pathos, 
and  it  has  also  its  bright  side.  But  the  question  of 
continuing  the  labour  traffic  with  Polynesia  is  an 
anthropological  rather  than  an  economic  question. 
Here  you  have  hundreds  of  islands  inhabited  mainly 
by  cannibals.  They  are  utterly  uncivilised.  Except 
for  a  handful  of  heroic  missionaries,  a  white  man 
hardly  ever  steps  ashore  among  them.  There  they 
are,  doing  no  work,  sitting  all  day  long  under  their 
palm-trees,  and  living  the  life  of  savages  and  canni- 
bals, except  in  the  few  cases  where  the  patient  labours 
of  the  missionaries  have  had  some  civilising  and  soft- 
ening influence.  They  know  nothing  of  the  outside 


JET.  38]  THE  NEW  HEBRIDES  427 

world.  No  vessel,  possibly,  has  ever  touched  their 
shores,  and  the  only  white  man's  face  they  have  ever 
seen  is  that  of  their  missionary.  Then,  one  day,  a 
vessel  arrives,  and  a  boat  is  lowered  filled  with  armed 
men  and  steers  for  the  island.  These  armed  men  are 
the  traders  who  have  come  to  engage  labour.  It  also 
lands  a  Government  agent,  whose  duty  it  is  to  see  that 
matters  are  arranged  humanely  and  on  fair  terms. 
This  boat  is  followed  by  another  carrying  a  further 
bodyguard,  armed  to  the  teeth,  and  covering  the  first 
boat  with  their  rifles  at  a  short  distance.  The  Kanaka 
is  easily  persuaded  to  engage  to  accompany  the  trader 
for  a  term  of  years,  when  a  few  sticks  of  tobacco,  a 
gun,  or  some  other  toy  is  put  into  his  hands  as  a  pres- 
ent. When,  a  few  days  later  on,  the  vessel  leaves  the 
island,  it  carries  the  flower  of  the  population  away 
with  it.  There  are,  happily,  a  good  many  islands  on 
which  the  unwearied  work  of  the  missionaries  has 
borne  fruit,  where  the  natives  are  docile  and  indus- 
trious ;  but  there  are  many  others  on  which  this  is  not 
the  case.  For  an  unarmed  man  to  land  would  be 
certain  death." 

'  "  Have  they  a  common  language  ?  "  —  "  No  ;  the 
dialects  are  innumerable  on  these  island  groups,  and 
it  is,  indeed,  not  infrequently  the  case  that  several 
almost  distinct  languages  are  spoken  on  the  same 
island.  Each  dialect  differs  widely  from  the  rest,  and 
each  is  only  understood  by  a  handful  of  natives.  On 
the  island  of  Eromanga,  which  I  visited  the  year  be- 
fore last,  the  first  missionary  who  came  was  murdered 
by  the  natives  ten  minutes  after  he  went  ashore.  The 
second  also  was  murdered,  and  several  after  him.  But 
the  work  was  not,  therefore,  given  up,  for  the  mission- 
aries will  not  be  kept  back,  and  now  the  missionary 
whom  I  found  there  has  been  at  his  post  for  thirteen 


428  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1890 

years.  There  is  a  church  on  the  island,  and  the  Kana- 
kas live  peacefully  together.  Can  you  wonder  at  the 
missionaries  protesting  when  some  day  they  wake  up 
to  find  that  the  pick  of  their  young  men  have  left  their 
island  and  gone  to  the  sugar  plantations  in  Queens- 
land ? " 

'"Then,  Professor  Drummond,  do  I  understand  that 
you  sympathise  with  the  outcry  against  the  importa- 
tion of  the  Kanakas  into  Queensland?"  —  "Not  ex- 
actly; I  am  with  the  Pall  Mail's  reasoning  in  Monday's 
leading  article.  At  the  same  time,  it  is  a  question  on 
which  there  is  so  much  to  be  said  on  both  sides  that 
I  should  not  like  to  speak  too  definitely.  What  I  have 
told  you  is  a  matter  of  information,  not  of  opinion.  On 
the  whole,  this  is  not  a  problem  peculiar  to  the  Pacific. 
Wherever  the  white  man  comes  into  contact  with  the 
black,  wherever  the  product  of  civilisation  has  to  deal 
with  the  child  of  nature,  the  same  class  of  difficulties 
arises.  To  keep  these  happy  children  to  their  own 
coral  islands  and  cut  them  off  from  the  contaminations 
of  civilisation  may  be  a  pardonable  ideal  to  the  mis- 
sionary. But  it  is  a  question  whether  such  a  state  of 
things  is  possible,  or  possible  long.  Sooner  or  later 
the  breath  of  the  outer  world  must  reach  them.  In 
too  many  cases  it  has  reached  them  already.  They 
must  brace  themselves  for  the  contact.  The  drafting 
of  successive  bands  of  natives  to  a  civilised  country  for 
a  term  of  years  and  then  shipping  them  back  again  to 
their  own  islands  —  as  the  labour-employer  is  bound 
to  do  —  might  become  an  important  factor  in  the  prog- 
ress of  these  races.  Everything  would  depend  on  the 
treatment  they  received  and  the  moral  atmosphere 
which  surrounded  them.  The  Queensland  Govern- 
ment has  certainly  left  no  stone  unturned  to  secure 
that,  so  far  as  legal  enactments  can  protect  an  inferior 


/ET.  38]  THE  NEW   HEBRIDES  429 

race,  the  Kanakas  are  safe  on  Australian  soil  from 
any  possible  tyranny,  violence,  or  even  physical  dis- 
comfort. If  it  could  also  secure  that  the  planter  would 
do  his  duty,  and  feel  an  adequate  moral  responsibility 
with  regard  to  his  employees,  there  would  be  no  right- 
eous opposition  to  the  labour  traffic.  The  question, 
therefore,  reduces  itself  to  the  universal  moral  prob- 
lem. Given  the  ideal  employer,  the  man  who  will 
protect  his  people  from  moral  contamination,  who  will 
seek  their  good  and  interest  as  well  as  his  own,  and 
return  them  to  their  country  wiser  and  better  men, 
and  with  some  rational  equivalent  for  the  labour  they 
have  given  —  then  this  traffic  can  do  nothing  but 
good.  Nor  is  it  idle  to  hope  that  one  day  this  ideal 
may  be  partially  realised.  .  .  . 

' "  If  it  is  inevitable  that  this  human  stream  from 
the  Pacific  should  continue  to  discharge  itself  upon 
Australian  soil,  one  very  practical  thing  remains  for 
those  who  have  raised  their  voices  against  it  —  to  turn 
every  energy  to  secure  henceforth  the  righteous  fulfil- 
ment of  the  conditions  under  which  the  Kanaka  is 
engaged,  and  especially  to  ameliorate  his  lot,  and  give 
to  it  that  educational  and  moral  value  which  humanity 
and  Christianity  demand.  More  than  ever  it  must  be 
made  certain  that  the  Government  agent  on  board  the 
labour  schooner  will  resist  the  temptation  to  play  into 
the  hands  of  the  employers,  and  make  it  certain  that 
in  each  individual  case  the  terms  of  the  contract  are 
fully  understood  by  the  natives  whose  services  are 
enlisted.  The  plantations  themselves  must  be  pro- 
tected from  the  illicit  drink-seller;  and  educational 
and  missionary  work  among  the  colonies  of  workers 
ought  to  be  everywhere  introduced.  If  this  were  done, 
and  done  effectually,  the  return  of  the  Kanaka  to  his 
island  home  would  mean  something  vital  in  social  and 


43O  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1890 

moral  influence  for  his  race.  At  present,  though  the 
Kanakas  are  thoroughly  well  treated  by  their  masters, 
—  on  the  mere  ground  of  economy  this  is  necessary, 
Kanaka  labour  being  far  too  costly  to  be  trifled  with,  — 
it  is  questionable  whether  they  gain  anything  by  their 
absence  either  morally  or  materially.  Their  hard- 
earned  wages  they  cannot  take  back  with  them  in 
coin,  since  money  is  almost  unknown  in  Polynesia. 
What  they  do  take  back  is  usually  a  lot  of  rubbish, 
purchased  in  Brisbane  at  fancy  prices,  to  be  distributed 
among  their  brother  savages  as  presents.  This,  it  must 
be  confessed,  is  a  poor  show  for  three  or  four  years* 
work  among  the  cane-brakes. 

'  "  On  thinking  over  this  whole  question  it  is  impos- 
sible not  to  compare  the  action  of  the  Queensland 
Government,  where  the  Kanakas  are  concerned,  with 
their  treatment  of  their  own  natives.  The  comparison 
is  all  in  favour  of  the  Kanakas.  The  Queensland 
natives  are  treated  as  veritable  outcasts.  They  are 
not  employed;  they  are  driven  away  from  the  towns 
and  settlements,  and  their  lives  in  certain  districts  are 
freely  taken  on  the  smallest  provocation,  and  no  ques- 
tions asked." ' 

From  Australia  Drummond  voyaged  slowly  by  Java, 
to  Singapore.  He  had  two  days  among  the  Anamese 
at  Saigon,  and  came  round  to  Hong  Kong  and  Shang- 
hai, where  he  saw  the  missions. 

At  Shanghai  he  addressed  a  native  meeting  as  fol- 
lows :  — 

'  I  know  just  one  word  of  Chinese,  and  that  is  "  Foh  " 
(happiness) ;  the  missionaries  come  to  China  to  give 
the  people  happiness,  and  there  is  nothing  in  the  world 
can  give  the  people  happiness  except  the  teaching  of 
Jesus  Christ.  I  have  been  all  over  the  world,  and  have 


Mi.  38]  THE  NEW   HEBRIDES  43! 

just  come  from  Australia.  Away  among  the  South 
Sea  Islands  I  saw  men  who  feed  on  human  flesh ;  a 
few  miles  off  the  islanders  ten  years  ago  were  cannibals 
too ;  why  not  now  ?  Because  the  missionaries  of  Jesus 
Christ  have  been  among  them ;  and  these  people  gave 
me  their  spears  and  bows,  which  I  have  now  in  the 
ship  —  "because,"  they  said,  "we  do  not  need  them 
any  more." 

'  When  Jesus  came  into  this  world  to  give  happiness, 
He  said  His  religion  was  to  be  three  things  to  men, — 
salt  and  light  and  leaven. 

*  What  is  the  use  of  salt  ?  It  is  the  salt  in  the  sea 
that  keeps  it  fresh.  It  is  the  salt  on  the  fish  that  keeps 
it  from  going  rotten.  The  people  of  Christ  are  the 
salt  of  the  earth.  Every  country  will  become  rotten 
if  there  are  no  Christians  in  it.  Nothing  can  prevent 
men  turning  rotten  and  bad  but  the  Gospel. 

4  Christ  is  light.  The  world  is  dark.  It  needs  a 
heavenly  teacher  to  tell  men  what  is  truth.  If  one 
man  tells  me  this  or  that  is  true,  another  tells  me  it  is 
not  true ;  whom  am  I  to  believe  ?  If  I  go  to  an  idol, 
it  cannot  tell  me  anything,  true  or  false. 

'  Christ  is  the  Light  of  men,  and  we  know  His  Word 
to  be  truth  beyond  all  doubt  or  dispute.  There  may 
be  only  two  or  three  men  in  this  great  congregation  who 
want  to  know  what  is  truth.  They  have  only  to  read 
the  New  Testament,  and  they  will  see  that  Jesus  Christ 
is  the  Light  of  the  world. 

'  I  suppose  you  know  what  leaven  is ;  it  is  that  which 
raises  up.  It  is  the  religion  of  Christ  that  uplifts  men. 
It  makes  them  higher  and  nobler  and  nearer  God ;  and 
if  we  come  to.  Jesus  Christ  and  learn  of  Him,  He  will 
lift  up  first  one,  then  another  of  you  who  hear  me  now, 
then  this  city  of  Shanghai,  and  then  this  great  country; 
but  if  we  reject  Him  we  must  sink  lower  and  lower. 


432  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1890 

1 1  understand  too  little  of  what  passes  in  your  minds, 
stranger  and  foreigner  as  I  am,  to  say  more  to  you  this 
evening.  But  I  leave  with  you  these  simple  thoughts 
—  Jesus  Christ  is  Light,  Leaven,  and  Salt  —  and  if  we 
learn  from  Him,  learn  what  He  is,  and  what  He  says, 
we  shall  be  made  light  and  salt  and  leaven  to  those 
among  whom  we  dwell.' 

From  China  he  went  on  to  Japan,  and  at  Tokio  was 
able  to  answer  the  invitation  sent  him  a  year  before 
by  a  large  number  of  students.  He  addressed  about 
five  hundred  of  them.  From  Japan  he  came  home 
through  Canada. 

In  November  he  opened  the  College  Session  with 
an  address  upon  Missions,  which  he  repeated  on  sev- 
eral occasions  during  the  next  month  or  two.  As  it 
was  not  only  fresh  and  full  of  information,  but  raised 
some  controversy,  it  seems  desirable  to  give  at  least  a 
summary  of  it :  — 

He  begins  by  saying  that  'there  are  two  ways  in  which  men 
who  offer  their  lives  to  their  fellow-men  may  regard  the  world. 
They  mean  the  same  thing  in  the  end,  but  you  will  not  mis- 
understand me  if  I  express  the  apparent  distinction  in  the 
boldest  terms.  The  first  view  is  that  the  world  is  lost,  and 
must  be  saved;  the  second,  that  the  world  is  sunken,  and 
must  be  raised.  .  .  .  The  first  preaches  mainly  justification  ; 
the  second  mainly  regeneration.  The  first  is  the  standpoint 
of  the  popular  evangelism  ;  the  second  is  the  view  of  evo- 
lution. The  danger  of  the  first  is  to  save  the  souls  of  men, 
and  there  leave  them ;  the  danger  of  the  second  is  to  ignore 
the  soul  altogether.  As  I  shall  now  speak  from  the  last 
standpoint,  I  point  out  its  danger  at  once,  and  meet  it  by  add- 
ing to  its  watchword  Evolution  the  qualifying  term  Christian. 
This  alone  takes  account  of  the  whole  nature  of  man,  of  sin 
and  guilt,  of  the  future  and  of  the  past,  and  recognises  the 
Christian  facts  and  forces  as  alone  adequate  to  deal  with 
them.' 

He   then   emphasises   the   complexity  of   the   missionary 


/Ex.  38]  THE  NEW   HEBRIDES  433 

problem,  and  the  amazing  variety  of  the  work  required  in 
different  fields.  '  Nothing  ought  to  be  kept  more  persistently 
before  the  minds  of  those  who  are  open  to  sense  as  mission- 
aries. ...  It  is  just  as  absurd  for  a  man  to  choose  in  general 
terms  "the  foreign  field"  and  go  abroad  to  rescue  "heathen," 
as  for  a  planter  to  go  anywhere  abroad  in  the  hope  of  sowing 
general  seed  and  producing  general  coffee.  ...  It  is  irra- 
tional for  the  missionary  to  carry  the  same  form  of  message 
to  every  land,  or  to  think  that  the  thought  which  told  to-day 
will  tell  to-morrow ;  he  must  rotate  his  crops  as  God  through 
the  centuries  rotates  the  social  soil  on  which  they  are  to 
grow.  .  .  .  Above  all,  when  he  reaches  his  field,  his  duty  is 
to  find  out  what  God  has  sown  there  already ;  for  there  is  no 
field  in  this  world  where  the  Great  Husbandman  has  not  sown 
something.  Instead  of  uprooting  his  Maker's  work,  and  clear- 
ing the  field  of  all  the  plants  that  found  no  place  in  his  small 
European  herbarium,  he  will  rather  water  the  growths  already 
there,  and  continue  the  work  at  the  point  where  the  Spirit  of 
God  is  already  moving.' l 

He  next  illustrates,  from  the  fields  he  had  visited,  'the 
necessity  for  specialisation  in  missions.'  'In  Australia  the 
missionary  problem  is  to  deal  with  a  civilised  people  under- 
going abnormally  rapid  development.  ...  It  is  what  a  biolo- 
gist would  call  an  organic  mass  of  the  highest  possible  mobility, 
of  almost  perilous  sensitiveness  to  prevailing  impressions,  with 
feeble  safeguards  to  conserve  its  solid  gains,  and  few  boun- 
dary lines  either  to  shape  or  limit  other  growths.  .  .  .  The 
chief  problem  of  Christianity  is  to  keep  pace  with  the  con- 
tinued growth ;  the  immediate  peril  is  that  it  may  be  wholly 
ignored  in  the  pressure  of  competing  growths. 

'  The  South  Sea  Islands  lie  at  the  opposite  end  of  the  scale. 
Growth  has  not  even  begun.  .  .  .  The  first  step  in  evolution, 
aggregation,  has  not  taken  place.  These  people  are  still  at 
zero ;  they  are  the  amoebae  of  the  human  world.  There  is  no 
complication  here  from  immigration,  but  the  opposite  diffi- 
culty —  depletion  due  to  emigration  and  other  causes.' 

1  '  A  hasty  critic,  when  these  sentences  were  spoken,  construed  them  into  a 
plea  for  building  Christianity  upon  heathenism.  The  words  are :  "  What  God  has 
sown  there,"  and  "  Where  the  Spirit  of  God  is  already  moving." ' —  H.  D.,  in  a 
later  edition  of  this  address. 


434  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1890 

China  stands  midway  between  the  Australian  colonies  and 
the  South  Sea  Islands,  '  an  instance  of  arrested  development. 
On  the  fair  way  to  become  a  vertebrate,  it  has  stopped  short 
at  the  crustacean.  The  capacity  for  change  is  almost  non- 
existent, and  there  is  a  powerful  religion  already  in  possession.' 

Japan,  in  turn,  is  an  almost  perfect  contrast  to  China. 
'It  has  broken  its  "cake  of  custom."  It  is  the  insect  emerg- 
ing from  the  chrysalis.  From  a  Christian  standpoint  the 
case  is  unique  in  history.  Its  own  religion  was  abandoned 
a  few  years  ago,  and  the  country  is  at  present  looking  for 
another.' 

If  the  variety  illustrated  in  this  rough  classification  were 
present,  in  the  degree  it  ought  to  be,  to  the  imagination  of  the 
Christian  churches,  'the  missionary  staff  would  be  differen- 
tiated with  more  exactness  than  at  present.  Each  man  would 
make  his  choice,  and,  equipping  himself  along  certain  lines, 
would  become  a  specialist.  In  the  second  place,  it  would 
become  possible  for  some  men  to  be  missionaries,  and  these 
among  the  best  men  entering  the  universities,  who  see  no 
room  for  them  at  present  in  the  foreign  field.'  .  .  .  They 
'would  find,  in  a  service  which  they  had  looked  upon  as 
perhaps  somewhat  limited  and  narrow,  something  which, 
when  looked  upon  in  all  its  length  and  breadth,  was  large 
enough  and  rich  enough  in  practical  possibilities  to  make 
them  offer  to  it  the  whole-hearted  work  of  their  lives.  To-day, 
certainly,  some  of  the  best  men  do  go  to  the  foreign  field,  but 
the  reason  why  more  do  not  go  is  uncertainty  as  to  whether 
they  are  exactly  the  type  of  men  wanted,  i.e.  in  plain 
language,  uncertainty  as  to  whether  the  cut  of  their  theology 
quite  qualifies  them  to  be  the  successors  of  Carey  or  Williams. 
.  .  .  Now,  this  feeling  is  very  real,  but  I  am  convinced  it  is 
very  ignorant  —  ignorant  of  the  changed  standpoint  from 
which  scores  of  our  missionaries  are  even  now  doing  their 
work,  ignorant  of  the  world's  real  needs,  ignorant  of  the 
hospitality  which  they  would  receive  from  many  at  least  of 
the  officials  of  most  of  the  Mission  Boards.'  Not  that  he 
counts  these  altogether  guiltless  in  this  matter.  '  I  do  not 
think  the  Mission  Committees  of  the  world  have  ever  worded 
their  advertisement  for  men  in  language  modern  enough  to 


JEr.  38]  THE  NEW   HEBRIDES  435 

include  the  class  of  whom  I  speak.  I  am  not  arguing  for 
free-lances,  or  budding  sceptics,  or  rationalists  being  turned 
loose  on  our  mission-fields,  but  for  young  men  —  and  our 
colleges  were  never  richer  in  them  than  at  this  moment  — 
who  combine  with  all  modern  culture  the  consecrated  spirit 
and  Christlike  life.  ...  It  ought  at  least  to  be  understood 
that  what  qualifies  to-day  for  the  leading  churches  at  home 
ought  not  to  disqualify  for  the  work  of  Christ  abroad,  but  that 
there  is  for  Christian  men  of  the  highest  originality  and  power 
a  career  in  the  foreign  field  at  least  as  great  and  rational  as 
that  at  home.  ...  I  am  sure  the  committees  at  least  of  some 
of  the  churches  not  only  want  these  men  but  scarcely  want 
anything  else.' 

He  then  describes  the  different  classes  needed  — '  first,  the 
old  missionary  pioneer  of  the  Sunday-school  picture-books, 
who  stands  with  his  Bible  under  the  stereotyped  palm-tree, 
exhorting  the  crowd  of  impossible  blacks.  .  .  .  Their  work 
must  still  and  always  continue.  Next,  we  have  these  same 
men  in  settled  charges  .  .  .  carrying  on  the  whole  evangeli- 
cal work  of  the  Christian  Church.  But  next,  among  these, 
and  gathered  from  these,  and  in  addition  to  these,  we  require 
a  further  class,  not  wholly  absorbed  with  specific  charges,  or 
ecclesiastical  progress,  or  the  inculcation  of  Western  Creeds, 
but  whose  outlook  goes  forth  to  the  nation  as  a  whole  —  men 
who,  in  many  ways  not  directly  on  the  programme  of  the 
Missionary  Society,  will  help  on  its  education,  its  morality, 
and  its  healthy  progress  in  all  that  makes  for  righteousness. 
This  man,  besides  being  the  missionary,  is  the  Christian 
politician,  the  apostle  of  a  new  social  order,  the  moulder  and 
consolidator  of  the  state.  He  places  the  accent,  —  if  such  an 
extreme  expression  of  a  distinction  may  be  allowed,  —  not  on 
the  progress  of  a  church,  but  on  the  coming  of  the  kingdom 
of  God.  He  is  not  the  herald,  but  the  prophet,  of  the  Cross.' 

Of  course,  he  says,  every  missionary  acquires  some  general 
idea  of  this,  but  '  what  is  needed  is  more  than  a  general  idea. 
The  Christianising  of  a  nation  like  China  or  Japan  is  an 
intricate,  ethical,  philosophical,  and  social,  as  well  as  Christian, 
problem ;  the  serious  taking  of  every  new  country,  indeed,  is 
not  to  be  done  by  casual  sharp-shooters  bringing  down  their 


436  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1890 

man  here  and  there,  but  by  a  carefully  thought-out  attack 
upon  central  points,  or  by  patient  siege  planned  with  all 
a  military  tactician's  knowledge.  .  .  .' 

He  then  describes  the  fields  he  has  seen,  and  begins  with 
the  New  Hebrides  and  their  slowly  dying  populations.  The 
mission  there,  he  says,  has  no  place  in  the  evolutionary  branch 
of  missions,  and  cannot  attract  the  class  of  minds  he  has  been 
describing.  '  It  belongs  to  the  order  of  the  Good  Samaritan. 
It  is  a  mission  of  pure  benevolence.  Its  parallel  is  the  mission 
of  Father  Damien  on  the  Leper  Island.'  He  follows  with  a 
eulogy  of  the  missionaries,  and  of  the  martyrs  who  preceded 
them.  '  I  have  no  words  to  express  my  admiration  for  these 
men  .  .  .  and  their  even  more  heroic  wives ;  they  are  perfect 
missionaries ;  their  toil  has  paid  a  hundred  times,  and  I  count 
it  one  of  the  privileges  of  my  life  to  have  been  one  of  the  few 
eyewitnesses  of  their  work.'  But,  he  adds,  the  missionaries 
themselves  do  not  ask  for  more  workers  here. 

On  China  he  offers  a  'surface  impression  of  little  worth.' 
'  Small  congregations  are  springing  up  everywhere.  The 
industry  and  devotion  of  the  workers  is  beyond  all  praise.  .  .  . 
But  they  possess  no  common  programme  or  consistent  method ; 
there  is  waste  and  confusion  —  the  sin  not  of  the  missionaries, 
but  of  Christendom.  A  reconsideration  of  methods  is  needed 
in  face  of  the  fact  that  the  educated  classes  are  not  being 
reached.  The  best  missionaries  themselves  are  crying  for 
this.'  But  he  warns  his  hearers  against  the  criticism  of 
missions  which  one  gets  from  ninety  per  cent,  of  commercial 
men  who  after  a  time  in  China  return  to  this  country.  '  As  a 
rule,  these  critics  have  never  had  ten  minutes'  serious  talk 
with  a  missionary  in  their  lives.  If  they  had,  they  would 
find  two  things  —  first,  that  there  were  some  missionaries  a 
thousand  times  worse  in  folly  and  incompetence  than  they  had 
ever  imagined ;  and,  second,  that  there  were  others,  and  these 
by  far  the  majority,  than  whom  no  wiser,  saner,  more  practical 
could  be  found  in  any  of  the  business  houses  in  the  world. 
It  is  men  of  this  latter  class  who  are  calling  for  more  scientific 
work  and  more  rational  methods  in  the  mission-field.' 

' ...  It  is  the  deliberate  opinion  of  many  men  who  know 
China  intimately,  who  are  missionaries  themselves,  that  half 


Mr.  38]  THE  NEW   HEBRIDES  437 

of  the  preaching,  and  especially  the  itinerating  preaching, 
carried  on  throughout  the  empire,  is  absolutely  useless.  I 
cannot  verify  this  criticism  ;  I  merely  record  it.  But  at  a 
time  when  the  loud  cry  for  hundreds  of  more  laymen  to  pour 
into  China  is  sounding  over  this  land,  the  warning  ought  at 
least  to  be  heard.  I  go  further.  This  call  is  frequently 
uttered  in  such  terms  as  to  take  almost  an  unfair  advantage 
of  a  certain  class  of  Christians  —  uttered  with  a  harrowing 
importunity  and  sensationalism  of  appeal,  which,  when  it  falls 
upon  a  tender  conscience  or  an  excited  mind,  makes  it  seem 
blasphemy  to  decline.  The  kind  of  missionary  secured  by 
this  process,  to  say  the  least,  is  neither  the  wisest  nor  the 
best ;  and  China  not  only  needs  to  be  protected  from  these 
men,  but  they  need  to  be  protected  from  themselves  and 
from  those  who,  in  genuine  but  unbalanced  zeal,  appeal  to 
them  —  protected  by  sober  statements  from  sober  men,  who 
love  the  work  of  God  and  souls  of  men  not  less,  but  who 
understand  both  better.' 

He  passes  to  Japan,  '  where  the  situation  is  still  more  deli- 
cate,' 'the  most  interesting  country  in  the  world  at  this 
moment,'  'the  past  has  never  witnessed  the  birth  of  a  civil- 
ised nation  so  remarkable,  so  orderly,  so  sudden.'  '  The 
Japanese  have  set  themselves  up  with  all  the  material  and 
machinery  of  an  advanced  and  rising  civilised  state  —  all  the 
materials  except  one.'  'They  are  in  the  unique  position  of 
prospecting  for  a  religion.' 

He  describes  the  competition  for  Japan  by  the  various  sec- 
tions of  Christendom,  the  chance  for  all,  the  '  mood  and 
malleability  of  the  nation.'  '  If  there  be  here  one  prophet, 
or  half  a  prophet,  or  even  the  making  of  half  a  prophet,  let 
me  assure  him  there  is  no  field  in  the  world  to-day  where,  so 
far  as  man  can  judge,  his  best  years  could  be  lived  to  so  great 
a  purpose.'  '  You  are  aware  the  work  of  the  missionaries  has 
been  so  successful  that  there  are  already  thousands  upon 
thousands  of  Christian  converts,  very  many  as  perfectly  read 
in  European  literature  and  as  cultured  as  the  picked  men  in 
our  universities !  A  leader  of  thought  among  these  said  to 
me :  "  We  have  got  our  Christianity  almost  exclusively  from 
the  missionaries,  especially  the  American  missionaries,  and 


438  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1890 

we  can  never  thank  them  enough.  But  after  a  little  we  began 
to  look  at  it  for  ourselves,  and  we  made  a  discovery.  We 
found  that  Christianity  was  a  greater  and  a  richer  thing  than 
the  missionaries  told  us.  ...  We  want  Christianity,  not  per- 
haps necessarily  a  Western  Christianity.  .  .  ."  In  justice  to 
the  missionaries,  it  ought  to  be  said  that  all  were  agreed  that 
the  Japanese  Church  could  not  yet  be  left  to  stand  alone.  .  .  . 
In  Tokio  I  had  the  privilege  of  addressing  some  thirty  or  forty 
Japanese  Christian  pastors.  At  the  close  I  asked  them  if 
they  had  any  message  they  would  like  me  to  take  home  to  the 
churches  here  or  in  America.  They  appointed  a  spokesman, 
who  stood  up  and  told  me  in  their  name  that  there  were  two 
things  they  would  like  me  to  say.  The  one  was,  "  Tell  them 
to  send  us  one  six  thousand  dollar  missionary  rather  than  ten 
two  thousand  dollar  missionaries."  But  the  second  request 
went  deeper.  I  again  give  the  exact  words  :  "  Tell  them,"  he 
said,  "that  we  want  them  to  send  us  no  more  doctrines. 
Japan  wants  Christ.  .  .  ."  To  judge  from  the  Japanese  con- 
verts I  met,  I  would  question  whether  any  mission  work  in  the 
world  had  ever  produced  fruit  of  so  fine  a  quality.  How  deep 
it  is,  how  permanent,  remains  for  the  test  of  time  to  declare ; 
but  the  immediate  outlook,  though  disheartening  possibly  to 
individual  missionaries,  seems  to  me  one  of  the  richest 
promise.' 

On  the  whole  mission-field  which  he  had  visited,  Drum- 
mond  said :  — 

'  If  one  saw  a  single  navvy  trying  to  remove  a 
mountain,  the  desolation  of  the  situation  would 
be  sufficiently  appalling.  Most  of  us  have  seen 
a  man  or  two,  or  a  hundred  or  two  —  ministers, 
missionaries,  Christian  laymen  —  at  work  upon 
the  higher  evolution  of  the  world ;  but  it  is  when 
one  sees  them  by  the  thousand  in  every  land,  and 
in  every  tongue,  and  the  mountain  honeycombed, 
and  slowly  crumbling  on  each  of  its  frowning 
sides,  that  the  majesty  of  the  missionary  work 
fills  and  inspires  the  mind.' 


CHAPTER   XVI 

1891-1894 

THE  LAST  LAP— CONTROVERSIES  AND  ATTACKS  — THE  DEATH 
OF  ROBERT  BARBOUR  — LIFE  AND  WORK  IN  GLASGOW  — VISIT 
TO  AMERICA  — THE  LOWELL  INSTITUTE  LECTURES  —  NORTH- 
FIELD  —  CANADA  —  CHICAGO  —  LAST  ADDRESSES  TO  EDIN- 
BURGH STUDENTS 

WE  have  now  reached  the  last  lap  of  Henry  Drum- 
mond's  race :  the  point  at  which  he  had  but  three 
years  and  a  half  of  work  left  to  him.  These  years, 
with  their  many  interests  in  Glasgow,  their  contro- 
versies, the  visit  to  America  in  1893,  and  the  prepara- 
tion of  the  Ascent  of  Man,  will  occupy  this  chapter. 

He  was  hardly  back  from  the  South  Seas  when  he 
was  attacked  from  many  quarters  for  what  his  critics, 
friendly  and  unfriendly,  called  the  defects  of  his  teach- 
ing. The  trouble  started  from  the  address,  with  which 
he  opened  the  winter  session,  on  the  '  Christian  Evo- 
lution of  the  World.' l  We  have  seen  with  what  admi- 
ration the  missionaries  inspired  him.  He  once  said 
that  what  he  saw  in  the  New  Hebrides  of  the  life  of 
the  missionaries  helped  him  to  understand  the  Incar- 
nation. His  address,  too,  had  other  tributes  of  the 
same  kind.  Yet  his  critics  fastened  upon  those  por- 
tions of  it  in  which  he  stated  the  still  unsolved 
problems  of  the  mission-field,  and  urged  upon  the 
churches  a  wider  policy  in  meeting  them,  and  a  more 
elastic  choice  of  men.  The  perusal  of  the  letters  with 
which  he  was  bombarded  reveals  on  the  part  of  his 

1  This  address  is  summarised  above  in  the  end  of  last  chapter. 
439 


44O  HENRY   DRUMMOND 

assailants  a  genuine  alarm  and  an  honest  zeal  to  put 
down  error.  But  the  astonishing  thing  is  that  Chris- 
tian men  should  have  so  little  sense  as  to  base  such 
charges  upon  a  necessarily  brief  report  in  a  newspaper. 
Also,  it  is  still  more  grievous  that  when  this  has  been 
pointed  out  to  them,  they  should  not  express  regret  at 
having  misrepresented  a  fellow-Christian,  nor  seem  to 
appreciate  the  pain  it  gives  him  to  have  his  opinions 
travestied  to  the  public.  On  that  line  the  morality  of 
the  religious  among  us  has  not  a  little  to  make  up. 
Drummond's  letters  of  this  date  are  full  of  pain,  and, 
for  the  first  time  in  his  life,  of  warm  indignation  on 
his  own  behalf.  He  calls  his  traducers  'assassins  of 
character.'  But  there  is  no  use  going  into  the  details 
of  what  was  an  utterly  unnecessary  controversy. 

'Nov.  20,  1890. 

'  I  am  catching  it  for  my  "  attack  on  missionaries  " 
—  all  the  result  of  a  one-sided  newspaper  report. 

'  The  redeeming  feature  is  that  when  I  redelivered 
the  address  last  Sunday  night  in  Edinburgh,  it 
bagged  several  really  first-rate  men  for  the  mis- 
sion-field.' 

The  attacks,  however,  scattered  from  the  Address 
on  Missions  to  the  little  books  which  for  nine  years 
Drummond  had  published  before  Christmas,  and  they 
were  specially  virulent  upon  the  last  of  them,  Pax 
Vobiscum.  All  that  need  now  be  told  of  the  temper 
in  which  he  met  these  criticisms,  or  of  the  substance 
of  his  replies  to  them,  is  contained  in  the  following 
letters  to  his  uncle,  Mr.  David  Drummond  of  Dublin, 
and  to  Mr.  Sankey. 

On  January  4,  1891,  his  uncle  wrote  him  a  very 
kind  letter,  expressing  his  disappointment  at  finding 
that  in  '  all  your  writings  and  addresses  you  all  but 


1890-1891  441 

ignore  the  Atonement,'  and  deploring  this  '  in  view  of 
the  great  influence  you  exert  over  young  men.'  To 
this  Drummond  replied:  — 

'  3,  PARK  CIRCUS,  GLASGOW,  Jan.  6,  1891. 

'  MY  DEAR  UNCLE,  —  Your  letter  has  just  this  mo- 
ment been  handed  to  me,  and  I  sit  down  to 
answer  it  at  once.  I  am  very  glad  you  have 
written  me,  and  thank  you  most  sincerely.  It  is 
surely  the  only  fair  as  well  as  the  only  Christian 
thing  to  do  in  such  circumstances,  and  not  to 
harbour  dark  suspicion  and  mistrust,  as  some  of 
my  enemies  do.  I  think  you  will  find  the  straight 
answer  to  your  question  in  the  little  book  l  which 
I  enclose,  if  you  will  kindly  look  at  the  last  two 
or  three  pages.  This  will  not  only  show  you  my 
belief  in  the  doctrine  you  refer  to,  but  partly 
explain  my  attitude  towards  it. 

'  The  two  little  booklets  lately  issued  were  not 
evangelistic  addresses,  but  simple  talks  to  Chris- 
tian people,  and  beyond  these  I  have  no  other 
"published  writings"  from  which  people  can 
judge  my  views. 

'  It  passes  my  comprehension  how  people  should 
venture  to  "judge"  at  all  —  much  less  on  the 
ground  of  two  half-hour  addresses  —  and  say  the 
fierce  things  that  are  said  of  me  without  any  basis. 
Therefore  it  is  that  I  am  grateful  to  you  for  asking 
the  question  before  sharing  in  my  condemnation. 

'  A  man's  only  right  to  publish  an  address  is  that  he 
thinks  the  thing  said  there  is  not  being  said  other- 
wise. Now,  ninety  per  cent,  of  the  evangelical 
literature  of  the  day  is  expressly  devoted  to  enforc- 
ing what  I  am  accused  of  not  enforcing,  i.e.  the 

1  An  Address  to  Workers  at  Dollis  Hill. 


442  HENRY  DRUMMOND 

fundamentals  of  Christianity.  But  if  a  doctor 
treats  a  patient  for  nerve-disease,  or  writes  a 
book  upon  it,  no  one  would  accuse  him  of  not 
believing  in  heart  disease  ?  He  writes  his  book 
because  nerve-diseases  are  not  being  treated  by 
others,  while  half  the  profession  is  busy  over 
heart-disease. 

'  Of  course,  you  may  think  I  make  an  error  of  judg- 
ment in  my  reading  of  the  popular  pulse,  and  in 
not  writing  books  on  the  fundamentals. 

'  But  there  seem  to  me  very  many  more  books  on 
those  aspects  of  Christ's  work  than  on  the  others, 
and  I  must  give  the  message  that,  in  addition, 
seems  to  me  to  be  needed.  While  saying  this,  I 
repeat,  I  may  be  making  an  error  of  judgment. 
But  one  can  only  judge  by  the  facts  around  him 
and  act  for  the  best,  as  it  seems  to  him,  with  such 
dim  light  as  he  has. 

'  I  am  afraid  I  shall  have  to  trouble  you  to  return 
the  little  booklet  accompanying  this,  —  say  within 
a  month,  —  as  I  have  only  a  copy  or  two  left,  and 
I  believe  it  is  out  of  print.  It  is  not  expressed  so 
fully  or  clearly  as  I  would  like,  for  it  was  spoken 
in  a  field,  without  more  than  ten  minutes'  notice, 
and  I  had  no  idea  a  reporter  was  present.  —  I  re- 
main, your  affectionate  nephew, 

'  HENRY  DRUMMOND.' 

His  uncle's  reply  is  so  kind  and  true,  that  it  is  well 
to  give  it :  — 

'Jan.  1 6,  1891. 

'  MY  DEAR  HENRY,  —  I  had  yours  of  the  6th  inst., 
with  enclosure,  and  your  frank,  open  explanation  has 
greatly  delighted  me,  and  removed  from  my  mind  an 
anxiety  I  confess  pressed  heavily  on  me.  You  have 


i89i  443 

quite  satisfied  aunt  and  me,  and  we  both  express  how 
pleased  we  are  at  the  kind  way  you  took  my  letter ; 
but,  indeed,  I  knew  you  so  well,  I  need  not  have  had 
any  anxiety  on  that  score.  Now  that  you  show  in 
your  Address  at  Dollis  Hill  how  clear  your  views  are 
on  the  Atonement,  notwithstanding  all  that  is  written 
and  said  to  the  contrary,  I  have  every  expectation  that 
in  some  of  your  future  writings  you  will  take  your  own 
way  of  making  it  clear ;  and  you  have  such  a  hold  of 
the  public  through  the  immense  sale  of  your  publica- 
tions, it  is  quite  incalculable  the  power  you  can  wield, 
and,  therefore,  I  repeat,  I  hope  you  will  yet  give  out, 
by  no  uncertain  sound,  your  belief  on  a  matter  of  such 
vast  importance.  I  admit  that  as  you  have  the  blood 
of  the  clan  in  your  veins,  like  myself,  you  may  be  "  a 
wee  thrawn,"  and  won't  be  drilled  as  I  see  certain 
writers  are  trying  to  do ;  hence  my  reason  for  saying 
that  I  have  no  doubt  but  that  by  and  by  you  will  take 
your  own  way  of  speaking  out  on  the  subject,  only 
asking  the  "  Sure  Guide  "  to  direct  you.  ...  —  Ever 
your  old  uncle,  D.  DRUMMOND.' 

The  other  letter  on  this  subject  is  of  later  date,  1892. 
It  was  written  in  reply  to  Mr.  Sankey,  who  was  then 
in  Scotland,  upon  his  and  Mr.  Moody 's  last  mission 
to  the  country.  Mr.  Sankey  had  come  across  the  ex- 
tract quoted  on  page  8  of  this  volume,  and  wrote 
Drummond  asking  if  the  words  were  really  his. 
Drummond's  reply  came  next  day.  '  On  his  last  visit 
to  America  in  1893,'  says  Mr.  Sankey,  '  I  showed  him 
this  letter  and  the  "  extract,"  and  asked  him  if  he  had 
any  objection  to  their  publication  if  occasion  should 
arise.  After  reading  them  over,  he  replied :  "  Cer- 
tainly not ;  you  have  my  hearty  permission  to  use 
them  in  any  way  you  think  best."  : 


444  HENRY  DRUMMOND 

'3,  PARK  CIRCUS,  GLASGOW,  April  3,  1892. 

'  MY  DEAR  MR.  SANKEY,  —  Would  that  all,  calling 
themselves  by  the  sacred  name  of  Christian,  had 
your  charity ;  knew  the  meaning,  as  you  and  Mr. 
Moody  do,  of  "  judge  not,"  and  afforded  a  man  at 
least  a  frank  trial  before  convicting  him. 

'  These  are  my  words,  and  there  has  never  been  an 
hour  when  the  thoughts  which  they  represent  were 
not  among  my  deepest  convictions.  Nor,  so  far 
as  I  know,  have  I  ever  given  any  one  ground  to 
believe  otherwise,  nor  is  there  any  one  of  my 
writings  where  these  same  ideas  will  not  be  found 
either  expressed  or  understood. 

'  If  you  ask  me  why  I  do  not  write  whole  books  on 
these  themes,  I  reply  that  I  believe  one's  only 
excuse  for  writing  a  book  is  that  he  has  something 
to  say  that  is  not  being  said. 

'  These  things  are  being  said.  Hundreds  of  books 
and  millions  of  tracts  are  saying  them  afresh  every 
month  and  year.  I  therefore  feel  no  call  to  enter 
literature  on  that  ground.  My  message  lies  among 
the  forgotten  truths,  the  false  emphasis,  and  the 
wrong  accent.  To  every  man  his  work. 

'  Let  me  thank  you  most  heartily  for  your  kindness 
in  writing.  The  way  to  spoil  souls,  to  make  them 
hard  and  bitter  and  revengeful,  is  to  treat  them 
as  many  treat  me.  If  I  have  escaped  this  terrible 
fate,  it  is  because  there  are  others  like  yourself 
who  "  think  no  evil." 

'  But  tell  your  friends  that  they  know  not  what  they 
do,  or  what  solemn  interest  they  imperil  when 
they  judge.  —  Yours  very  sincerely, 

1  HENRY  DRUMMOND.' 


i89i  445 

The  session  of  1890-91  was  spent  in  his  college 
work,  his  weekly  visits,  after  the  New  Year,  to  the 
Edinburgh  students,  and  a  multitude  of  other  duties. 
In  April  came  a  call  to  the  sick-bed  of  his  friend 
Robert  Barbour,  who  had  been  carried,  on  a  vain  quest 
for  health,  to  the  Riviera.  In  the  beginning  of  May, 
Barbour  was  taken  to  Aix-les- Bains,  from  which  Drum- 
mond  writes :  — 

'HOTEL  SPLENDIDE,  AIX-LES- BAINS,  May  6,  1891. 

'  I  have  had  a  very  anxious  and  doleful  time  and 
much  heavy  nursing,  as  Barbour  all  last  week 
would  allow  no  one  near  but  his  wife  and  myself. 
No  one  can  predict  when  the  curtain  may  fall,  but 
I  feel  he  has  already  left  us.  This  day  last  year 
I  was  standing  by  Ewing  as  the  sand  ran  low  in 
the  glass.' 

This  vigil  lasted  for  three  weeks,  Barbour  not  caring 
to  have  Drummond  out  of  sight,  and  loving  to  hold 
him  by  the  hand.  He  read,  cheered,  and  tended  the 
dying  man,  and  wrote  to  the  friends  daily  letters  full 
of  those  details  which  we  all  love  to  hear  about  our 
dear  ones  when  they  hover  between  life  and  death  and 
we  are  far  away.  Barbour  died  on  May  27. 

To  Lord  Aberdeen 

'June.iS,  1891. 

*  Your  letter  much  more  than  pleased  —  it  touched 
me.  It  is  much,  in  this  busy  life,  through  what- 
ever silences  and  separations,  always  to  be  able 
to  count  on  the  true  beat  of  a  heart.  Friendship 
can  yield  but  little  more,  and  nothing  more  that 
is  greater. 

'  So,  many  real  thanks. 


446  HENRY   DRUMMOND 

'  It  was  hard  to  watch  Bar-hour  die.  The  impression 
of  his  life  is  cropping  up  from  many  sides  just  now, 
and  it  is  very  wonderful.  His  peculiar  character- 
istic was  saintliness,  an  element  in  life  which  one 
is  apt  to  think  either  superfluous  or  morbid,  but 
which  is  after  all  a  vital  ingredient.  When  one 
thinks  of  it,  it  is  the  unworldly  people  who  have 
really  helped  us  most.' 

Drummond  spent  July  and  August  in  Sutherland- 
shire,  fishing  at  Loch  Stack,  and  driving  about  the 
country.  All  September  he  worked  steadily  at  home, 
was  at  Haddo  House,  fishing  and  holding  services  for 
part  of  October,  and  in  the  end  of  the  month,  after 
the  publication  of  his  new  booklet,  The  Programme 
of  Christianity,  he  began  the  winter  session. 

Perhaps  this  is  the  most  convenient  point  at  which 
to  attempt  to  express  Drummond's  feelings  towards 
the  city  of  his  winter  residence,  and  to  describe  the 
place  he  took  in  her  life.  From  1885  he  lived  in 
No.  3,  Park  Circus,  above  the  West  End  Park,  on  the 
summit  of  one  of  the  range  of  low  hills  that  run 
parallel  to  the  Clyde,  and  is  covered  by  the  north  side 
of  Glasgow.  It  is  a  large  house,  and  he  could  not  use 
the  whole  of  it,  but  he  worked  best  when  there  was 
space  about  him,  and  the  house  afforded  a  noble  study, 
with  a  long  view  northwards  across  some  suburbs  to 
the  Campsie  hills.  The  house  was  furnished,  as  he 
himself  put  it,  '  with  dead  hobbies,'  one  of  which,  how- 
ever, was  not  dead,  for  till  the  end  he  added  to  his 
store  of  beautiful  cabinets,  and  of  pictures  of  which 
accuracy  obliges  one  to  say  that  they  were  of  more  or 
less  ambiguous  value.  The  hall  had  a  few  spoils  of 
travel  —  javelins,  arrows,  and  curious  candlesticks. 
The  large  dining-room  contained  a  carved  sideboard, 


1885-1894  447 

which  friends  averred,  but  which  he  would  never  allow, 
had  been  part  of  an  altar ;  on  the  walls  were  pictures 
of  the  glories  of  the  Yellowstone  Valley,  and  some 
European  landscapes,  one  by  Thomson  of  Dudding- 
ston.  The  study  contained  a  large  library,  scientific, 
theological,  and  literary,  a  table  of  new  books,  and  the 
aforesaid  cabinets,  an  etching  of  Millet's  Angelus,  and 
several  portraits  of  friends.  At  the  writing-table 
against  one  of  the  windows  Drummond  wrote  only 
letters.  All  his  other  work  was  done  in  a  chair  with 
his  back  to  the  light,  and  a  large  blotter  on  his  knee. 
His  working  day  began  after  a  half-past  eight  o'clock 
breakfast.  He  read  or  wrote  till  his  lecture  at  twelve, 
lunched  at  one,  and  generally  went  out  to  walk  or  to 
business  till  half-past  four  or  five.  After  tea  he  settled 
down,  if  he  was  permitted,  to  a  long  spell  of  work  till 
ten,  when  he  supped,  and  so  to  bed  usually  by  mid- 
night. But  his  evenings  were  often  broken  by  visitors. 
Sometimes  there  would  be  a  constant  stream  of  these, 
most  of  them  with  errands  that  required  his  close 
attention.  For  a  few  years  after  1886,  the  interests 
that  poured  into  his  study  were  largely  political ;  men 
came  to  consult  him  about  Liberal  prospects  in  the 
neighbouring  constituencies.  The  philanthropic  socie- 
ties of  Glasgow  are  innumerable;  equally  so  are  the 
associations  in  need  of  lectures  and  addresses;  and 
gradually,  as  the  years  went  on,  he  became  personally 
engaged  in  movements  like  the  University  Settlement, 
the  Boys'  Brigade,  and  the  Pleasant  Sunday  After- 
noons at  the  Canal  Boatmen's  Institute.  On  behalf 
of  these  he  was  constantly  receiving  visitors.  But  in 
addition  there  drifted  upon  him  from  the  vast  popula- 
tion, in  which  he  occupied  so  conspicuous  a  position, 
all  sorts  of  individuals,  representing  only  themselves : 
students  with  mental  difficulties,  unacknowledged 


448  HENRY  DRUMMOND 

poets,  artisans  with  a  gift  for  writing,  a  host  of  '  cranks," 
and  more  than  one  actual  madman.  Yet  even  their 
visits,  frequent  and  prolonged  as  they  could  be,  were 
exceeded  by  the  letters  which  came  in  showers,  chiefly 
after  his  lectures  in  America  and  Australia.  Those 
who  blamed  him  for  not  answering  all  his  letters  ought 
to  have  seen  his  daily  post.  Much  of  his  correspond- 
ence, of  course,  deserved  no  answer;  but,  with  his 
other  work,  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  overtake  even 
that  portion  which  had  a  real  claim  on  his  attention. 
He  had  no  staff  of  clerks,  like  a  business  man,  nor  a 
secretary. 

His  interest  in  more  than  one  '  settlement '  brought 
him  the  acquaintance  of  a  number  of  artisans ;  and  his 
knowledge  of  their  life  was  increased  by  his  habit, 
already  described,  of  contracting  for  the  printing  and 
binding  of  his  books  himself.  It  must  have  been  out 
of  this  that  the  following  call  came,  soon  after  his 
return  to  town  in  the  autumn  of  1891  :  — 

To  Lady  Aberdeen 

'3,  PARK  CIRCUS,  GLASGOW,  Nov.  25. 

' .  .  .  I  am  off  to  settle  a  strike,  positively  sole 
arbiter.  Printers.  How  A.  would  envy  me  — 
and  how  I  wish  he  had  to  do  it ! ' 

The  winter  passed  in  the  usual  change  of  labours 
between  his  class  and  other  interests  in  Glasgow,  and 
his  meetings  with  students  on  Sunday  evenings  in 
Edinburgh.  The  latter  were  continued  for  a  few 
Sundays  during  the  summer  session  of  1892,  and  it 
was  at  this  time  that  an  Edinburgh  journal  raised  that 
cry  against  the  meetings  which  has  been  referred  to 
in  a  previous  chapter. 


1891-1892  449 

The  summer  of  1892  brought  another  General 
Election,  which  carried  Mr.  Gladstone  into  power 
with  a  small  majority.  Drummond  took  a  smaller 
part  in  this  Election  than  in  the  previous  one.  The 
following  are  the  only  notes  I  can  find  with  regard 
to  it:  — 

'June  12. 

'  I  had  a  call  from  John  Burns  and  Cunninghame 
Graham,  mourning  over  their  lost  cause.  The 
latter  will  lose  his  seat  certain.  The  labour 
people  are  a  serious  threat  this  time.' 

'July  II. 

'  We  [Captain  Sinclair  and  H.  D.]  go  to  speak  at 
Helensburgh  to-night.  We  sleep  there,  and  go 
all  over  the  county  [Dumbarton]  from  dawn  to 
dark  to-morrow  visiting  the  polling-booths.' 

During  September  he  took  a  fishing  at  Banchory- 
Ternan,  on  the  Dee.  Then,  and  for  the  rest  of  the 
autumn,  he  was  hard  at  work  on  the  Ascent  of  Man. 

In  November  I  joined  the  Glasgow  College,  and 
lived  for  the  first  month  of  the  session  with  Drum- 
mond. It  was  then  I  became  aware  of  the  big  corre- 
spondence and  large  number  of  daily  visits  to  which 
he  was  subject,  and  learned  to  admire  his  constant 
patience,  and  the  leisure  he  made  for  those  who  had 
the  least  claim  upon  him,  although  at  the  time  he  was 
preparing  his  American  lectures.  A  number  of  the 
letters  he  used  to  get  were  very  amusing.  Some 
admirers  wrote  him  regularly,  I  think  every  day,  but 
at  least  every  day  or  two.  Other  letters  brought  the 
penalties  of  his  American  fame.  Unscrupulous  per- 
sons in  the  United  States  had  put  his  name  on  the 
title-page  of  pamphlets  and  of  poems  with  which  he 


45O  HENRY   DRUMMOND 

had  nothing  to  do.     One  day  there  came  a  letter  in  a 
feminine  hand  — 

'  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  am  a  widow  with  one  boy  of  twelve 
years  of  age.  He  promises  well,  and,  I  think,  could 
be  secured  for  the  Kingdom  if  you  would  send  him  an 
autograph  copy  of  your  sweet  hymn,  "  Are  they  safe 
with  Him?"'  ' 

One  day  he  said :  '  You  are  a  decent  fellow.  You 
never  ask  a  man  "  whom  he  sits  under,"  or  "  whether 
he  has  been  at  church  to-day  ? "  Now,  it  has  been 
commonly  supposed  that  he  hung  loose  to  church  life, 
and  very  seldom  of  a  Sunday  worshipped  with  his 
fellow-Christians ;  and  this  idea  has  been  strengthened 
by  a  mistaken  reading  of  his  booklet  The  City  With- 
out a  Church,  which  was  published  that  autumn  in 
1892.  I  can  only  say  that  during  all  the  winters  I 
worked  by  his  side  in  Glasgow  I  never  knew  him  to 
miss  attending  church  on  Sunday ;  and  a  more  hearty 
and  reverent  worshipper  it  would  be  hard  to  find.1 

During  the  week  he  very  seldom  went  to  any  dinner- 
party, 'At  Home,'  or  evening  amusement.  He  had 
not  the  time  for  them,  or  he  had  a  friend  staying  with 
him.  But  he  made  an  exception  for  the  social  meet- 
ings of  students.  There  his  gaiety  was  always  infec- 
tious, and  he  joined  in  every  chorus.  On  Saturday 
afternoons  he  was  always  found  watching  football  — 
either  one  of  the  great  League  matches,  or  a  match 
between  two  companies  of  the  Boys'  Brigade. 

By  the  end  of  the  session  of  1892-93  he  had  written 
his  lectures  on  the  Ascent  of  Man,  and  on  March  22nd 
sailed  on  the  Teutonic  for  America. 

Drummond  went   to  America  to  give    at    Boston 

1  Compare  what  he  says  about  church-going  in  his  Addresses  to  Students,  Nos. 
I.  and  vi.,  given  in  the  Appendix  to  this  volume. 


1892-1893  45 i 

the  Lowell  Institute  Lectures,  founded  by  Mr.  John 
Lowell,  Jun.,  in  1839,  and  delivered  from  year  to  year 
by  a  series  of  famous  scholars,  artists,  and  literary  and 
scientific  authorities.  But  before  he  started  he  re- 
ceived, even  more  numerously  than  on  his  visit  in 
1887,  invitations  from  other  institutes  and  societies, 
and  from  nearly  all  the  leading  universities  of  the 
States.  The  Chicago  Exhibition  was  about  to  open, 
Lord  and  Lady  Aberdeen  were  in  Canada,  and  his 
friend,  Mr.  W.  E.  Dodge  of  New  York,  had  asked 
him  to  go  on  a  fishing  expedition  up  one  of  the 
Canadian  rivers.  He  left  England,  therefore,  to  spend 
all  the  summer  and  autumn  vacation  in  America. 
Even  if  the  material  existed  for  doing  so,  it  would  be 
impossible,  for  reasons  of  space,  to  follow  his  work 
and  his  wanderings  in  detail.  There  is  room  only  for 
a  few  salient  points. 

In  Boston,  one  of  the  most  intellectual  cities  in  the 
world,  the  Lowell  Institute  Lectures  of  1893  aroused 
the  most  vivid  interest.1  They  were  practically  his 
volume  on  the  Ascent  of  Man.  '  For  every  one  who 
received  a  ticket  of  admission  to  them,  there  were  ten 
turned  away.'  'Standing  room  is  at  a  premium,  and 
scores  are  turned  away  every  evening.'  On  Wednes- 
day and  Saturday  afternoons,  therefore,  Drummond 
repeated  the  lecture  of  the  previous  evening.  But,  the 
strain  of  this  notwithstanding,  he  remembered  other 
interests  which  were  dear  to  him,  and  gave  a  number  of 
addresses  upon  the  Boys'  Brigade,  and  to  the  students 
of  Harvard  University.  One  of  the  latter  in  Apple- 
ton  Chapel,  by  which  he  said  he  desired  to  reach  those 
who  were  not  Christians,  concluded  with  the  charac- 
teristic words :  '  Above  all  things,  do  not  touch  Chris- 

1  For  information  as  to  this,  I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  Howard  A.  Bridgman,  one 
of  the  editors  of  the  Boston  Congregationalist. 


452  HENRY   DRUMMOND 

tianity  unless  you  are  willing  to  seek  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  first.  I  promise  you  a  miserable  existence  if 
you  seek  it  second.' 

In  May  he  spoke  to  the  students  of  Amherst  Uni- 
versity1 upon  Temptation,  and  delivered  addresses  in 
other  places.  In  the  end  of  the  month  he  went  to 
Chicago,  to  see  the  '  World's  Columbian  Exposition,' 
and  in  particular  the  Irish  village,  which  formed  part 
of  it,  and  the  existence  of  which  was  mainly  due  to 
Lady  Aberdeen.  There  he  gave  lectures  on  Evolu- 
tion, and  addresses  in  connection  with  the  Boys' 
Brigade  at  Minneapolis  and  Duluth.  In  the  former 
of  these  towns  he  had  a  curious  adventure.  At  the 
close  of  his  lecture  he  was  denounced  by  a  well-known 
citizen  as  '  a  fraud  and  imitator  of  the  real  Professor 
Drummond,  whom  the  speaker  had  heard  elsewhere, 
and  knew.'  In  July  he  repeated  his  Boston  lectures 
at  Chautauqua,  and  went  on  to  a  Conference,  under 
Mr.  Moody,  at  Northfield.  Here  he  delivered  the 
three  addresses  — '  A  Life  for  a  Life,'  '  Lessons  from 
the  Angelus]  and  '  The  Ideal  Man,'2  —  and  it  was  here 
that  he  encountered  the  inevitable  attack  upon  his 
teaching.  Drummond  told  me  that  the  reporter  of 
one  of  the  leading  English  religious  papers  said  to 
him,  that  he  had  orders  not  to  report  a  word  of  what 
Drummond  said ;  and  the  story  goes  that  a  deputation 
of  the  usual  adherents  of  the  Northfield  Conference 
waited  on  Mr.  Moody  and  urged  him  not  to  allow 
Drummond  to  speak.  Mr.  Moody  asked  a  day  to 
think  over  the  matter ;  and  when  the  deputation  re- 
turned, informed  them  that  he  had  '  laid  it  before  the 
Lord,  and  the  Lord  had  shown  him  that  Drummond 

1  It  was  Amherst  which  gave  him  the  only  degree  he  possessed,  LL.D. 

2  Published  with  an  introduction  from  Mr.  Moody  by  the  Fleming  H.  Revell 
Co.,  New  York,  Chicago,  and  Toronto,  1897. 


1*93  453 

was  a  better  man  than  himself ;  so  he  was  to  go  on ! ' 
This,  if  true,  was  like  the  man  who  penned  the  tribute 
to  Drummond,  given  in  the  first  chapter  of  this  vol- 
ume, and  who  once  said  to  the  writer,  '  There's  noth- 
ing I  ever  read  of  Henry  Drummond's,  or  heard  him 
say,  that  I  didn't  agree  with.'  What  Drummond  him- 
self felt  about  his  Northfield  visit  appears  in  the  follow- 
ing lines,  written  some  days  afterwards :  — 

'  At  Northfield  I  felt  a  good  deal  out  of  it,  and  many 
fell  upon  and  rent  me.  Before  the  close  of  the 
Conference,  I  struck  an  orthodox  vein  and  re- 
trieved myself  a  little.  But  it  was  not  a  happy 
time.' 

In  the  end  of  July  he  went  on  holiday  into  Canada. 

To  Lord  Aberdeen 

1  RESTIGOUCHE  SALMON  CLUB,  METAPEDIA,  QUEBEC, 
July  27,  1893. 

'  MY  DEAR  A.,  —  You  will  see  by  the  above  heading 
that  I  am  at  present  not  only  one  of  your  loyal 
subjects,  but  that  in  spite  of  the  contretemps  with 
the  Cascapedia,  I  am  permitted  the  indulgence  of 
my  besetting  sin.  This  river  is  perhaps  the  next 
best  to  the  Cascapedia,  and  as  I  know  several  of 
the  members  of  the  Club,  my  deplorable  instincts 
are  more  than  satisfied.  .  .  . 

'  One  goes  up  the  river  in  a  house-boat  (primitive) 
with  a  fleet  of  Indians  and  canoes  for  the  actual 
fishing,  and  sleeps  either  in  the  boat  or  in  the 
clubhouses  at  the  various  pools.  Salmon  abound, 
and  I  have  had  my  share,  though  the  river  has 
been  very  low,  and  barely  fishable  these  last  few 
days.  A  man  sitting  opposite  me  as  I  write, 


454  HENRY  DRUMMOND 

along  with  a  friend,  captured  ninety-two  salmon 
in  five  days  —  a  phenomenal  score,  however,  even 
for  Canada  —  at  the  beginning  of  the  season. 
Pardon  all  this  fish-talk.  Your  thoughts  must  be 
in  better  and  graver  directions  at  present.' 

To  Lady  Aberdeen 

From  the  same  address,  July  31. 

'  Here  is  the  last  of  this  poor  old  Monkey1  —  sent 
in  shame  and  confusion  of  face  for  writing  such 
stuff,  and  especially  for  not  writing  it  months 
ago.  How  ever  did  you  get  me  to  make  such  a 
fool  of  myself  I  can't  imagine.  But  you  are  an 
angelic  editor  not  to  worry  your  contributors  for 
return-of-post  copy,  and  how  you  have  let  me  off 
the  scolding  I  deserve  I  can't  fathom.  Cannot  I 
make  atonement  by  doing  something  else  to  help 
on  anything  after  you  are  gone  from  us  ?  I  shall 
really  try,  if  you  will  commit  some  untied  knot 
end  to  me. 

'  At  the  moment,  fishing  being  over,  I  am  trying  to 
write  a  few  papers  for  Chicago  and  elsewhere. 
But  the  beauty  of  this  river,  absolute  solitude, 
and  an  extra  good  box  of  cigars  are  somewhat 
against  work.  All  the  fishermen  have  gone  home, 
and  I  am  camped  in  a  snug  farm  a  few  miles  from 
the  clubhouse. 

'  A  humming-bird  passed  the  verandah  a  moment 
ago. 

'  A  week  hence,  if  I  succeed  in  doing  any  work,  I 
shall  pay  a  visit  to  Bar  Harbour.' 

1  The  end  of  his  story,  The  Monkey  that  wouldn't  Kill,  published  first  in  Wee 
Willie  Winkie,  and  separately,  in  1898,  by  Messrs.  Hodder  and  Stoughton. 


455 

In  September  he  stayed  with  their  Excellencies  the 
Governor-General  of  Canada  and  Lady  Aberdeen  at 
the  Citadel,  Quebec ;  and  it  was  here,  on  the  great 
rock  above  the  St.  Lawrence,  one  Sunday  afternoon, 
that  he  gave  his  beautiful  address  from  the  text, 
'  There  is  a  River.' 

In  the  first  week  of  October  he  was  back  in  Chicago 
for  the  opening  of  the  University.  It  was  the  begin- 
ning of  the  second  year  of  that  wonderful  institution  — 
wonderful  in  its  great  and  sudden  endowments ;  won- 
derful in  the  broad  and  complex  organisation  which 
President  Harper  and  his  colleagues  had  already 
achieved;  and  wonderful  in  the  way  in  which  the 
classes  go  on  all  the  year  round.  Drummond  often 
said  how  large  and  open  he  found  the  life  to  be  there, 
and  how  strongly  it  roused  the  best  that  was  in  him. 
On  the  first  Sunday  of  October  he  gave  his  religious 
address  on  Millet's  Angelus  and  two  days  later  the 
Convocation  Lecture  on  '  Some  Higher  Aspects  of 
Evolution.'  Outside  the  University  was  the  Great 
Exposition,  about  whose  beauty  and  vastness  he  could 
hardly  cease  talking  when  he  came  home.  Drummond 
addressed  the  Congress  of  the  Evangelical  Alliance 
under  the  presidency  of  his  friend  Mr.  W.  E.  Dodge. 
On  his  way  home,  in  New  York,  he  addressed  another 
meeting  for  the  Boys'  Brigade. 

Drummond's  American  visit  was  accompanied  and 
followed  by  the  usual  showers  of  letters,  which  fell 
wherever  he  spoke  for  any  length  of  time.  They  re- 
call the  results  of  his  earlier  missions.  It  is  astonish- 
ing how  his  words  touched  the  hearts  of  men  and 
women  who,  brought  up  to  religion,  had  suddenly 
found  it  mere  routine,  and  had  slipped  away  from 
faith,  and  often  from  all  hope.  Their  grateful  letters 
justify  the  jealousy  with  which,  at  the  risk  of  offending 


456  HENRY   DRUMMOND 

the  orthodox,  he  adapted  his  teaching  to  such  cases. 
He  knew  that  these  existed  in  crowds,  unsought,  un- 
cared  for;  and  in  numbers  they  responded  to  his 
efforts  to  reach  them.  '  All  the  old  hopelessness  is 
gone,'  says  one ;  '  you  sent  it  away.'  — '  Your  words 
last  night  gave  me  back  again  the  faith  I  had  lost,  and 
this  morning  I  woke  for  the  first  time  for  long  a  happy 
and  a  hopeful  man.'  And  so  on.  Of  course,  with 
these  came  the  customary  appeals  from  the  simple  and 
from  the  twisted ;  the  young  man  who  wrote,  '  I  like 
your  style  of  speaking  so  much,  I  venture  to  ask  you 
how  you  acquired  it,'  and  the  '  recipient  of  marvellous 
revelations,'  '  Heaven's  vice-gerent  on  earth '  (as  he 
styled  himself),  who  '  has  been  commanded  to  publish 
the  Gospel  that  the  Coming  Man  is  a  Woman ! '  'I 
think,'  said  Drummond  once,  '  they  do  breed  more 
cranks  in  America  than  we  do  here ;  yet  we  run  them 
hard.' 

On  Drummond  himself  the  energy  and  hopefulness 
of  the  people  —  and  all  the  more  that  upon  this  visit 
he  had  seen  it  concentrated  in  the  colossal  exposition 
at  Chicago  —  had  produced  the  effect  which  never 
failed  him  on  his  journeys  to  America.  From  the 
States  he  always  came  back,  he  said,  as  from  '  a  bath 
of  life ' ;  and  America  and  the  Americans  remained  to 
the  end  one  of  his  great  enthusiasms. 

1 1  do  think  they  are  the  most  wonderful  people  un- 
der the  sun.  A  nation  in  its  youth  is  a  stirring 
spectacle.' 

Physically,  however,  this  visit  to  America  tried  him 
greatly,  notwithstanding  the  short  rest  he  got  while 
fishing,  and  he  came  home  looking  much  older.  The 
preparation  of  the  Lowell  Lectures  had  been  a  strain ; 


1893-1894  457 

he  said  that  after  he  saw  his  audience  at  the  first  of 
them  he  had  practically  to  rewrite  the  rest.1 

The  winter  session  of  1893-94  was  passed  in  work 
harder  than  usual.  He  was  preparing  his  Boston  dis- 
courses for  the  press.  He  gave  a  number  of  lectures 
outside  the  College,  and  on  February  5th  began  his 
last  series  of  addresses  to  the  Edinburgh  students. 
About  this  time  he  was  offered  the  Principalship  of 
M'Gill  University,  Montreal,  and  he  did  not  refuse  it 
till  after  long  consideration.  The  summer  was  spent 
in  fishing-holidays,  hardly  enjoyed  under  the  first  pains 
of  his  last  illness,  in  addressing  various  clubs,  and  in 
writing  some  articles,  among  them  two  for  M^Clures 
Magazine,  on  Mr.  Moody.  One  of  his  visits  in  June 
was  to  a  boys'  club  in  Edinburgh.  He  asked  them  to 
put  questions  to  him,  and  he  was  so  struck  and  amused 
by  those  put,  that  he  kept  a  list  of  them.  Here  they 
are:  (i)  How  can  we  find  happiness?  (2)  What  is 
the  bottomless  pit  ?  (3)  What  is  the  camel  through  a 
needle's  eye  ?  (4)  What  do  you  think  of  gambling  ? 
(5)  What  do  you  think  of  strikes  ?  (6)  Is  it  offensive 
to  God  to  smoke  a  pipe  ?  (7)  Who  is  God  ?  (8)  Why 
do  monkeys  not  become  human  ?  (9)  What  is  the  use 
of  going  to  church  ? 

In  May  the  Ascent  of  Man  was  published. 

1  From  a  note  by  Mr.  James  Drummond. 


CHAPTER   XVII 

THE  ASCENT   OF  MAN 

THE  Lowell  Lecturer  for  1893  did  not  intend  to 
publish  his  lectures  in  a  volume  for  some  years.  He 
had  secured  an  American  copyright,1  and  Messrs.  J. 
Pott  and  Co.  of  New  York  were  announced  in  the  liter- 
ary journals  as  the  American  publishers.  But  no  date 
was  fixed  for  the  publication,  and  Drummond  looked 
forward  to  a  long  revision  of  his  material.  Before  he 
left  America,  however,  he  heard  that  a  Philadelphian 
publisher  was  about  to  issue  a  volume  entitled  *  The 
Evolution  of  Man,  being  the  Lowell  Lectures  delivered 
at  Boston,  Massachusetts,  April,  1893,  by  Professor 
Henry  Drummond,'  and  claiming  to  be  made  up  from  a 
contemporary  report  of  the  lectures  recently  delivered 
by  Professor  Drummond  in  the  Boston  Institute, 
which  '  reports,'  the  introduction  further  stated,  '  have 
been  carefully  collated  and  presented  to  the  reader 
with  the  certainty  that  they  will  prove  of  value.'  The 
reports  were  said  to  be  taken  from  the  British  Weekly 
of  April  and  May,  1893,  in  which  the  first  lecture  had 
appeared  almost  in  full,  but  the  rest  in  gradually  dwin- 
dling summaries,  up  to  the  eighth,  when  they  ceased. 
They  were,  therefore,  partial  reports,  and  besides,  in 

1  To  do  this  all  that  is  necessary  is  to  print  or  typewrite  a  title-page  with  name, 
date,  and  '  copyrighted  by  So-and-So '  printed  on  the  back,  and  enclose  a  regis- 
tration fee  of  a  dollar.  It  is  not  even  necessary  that  the  book  be  written.  '  Twelve 
copies  must  be  exposed  for  sale,'  but  at  what  time  is  not  explicitly  stated.  An 
account  of  the  whole  case  appeared  in  The  Bookman  for  July,  1894,  and  I  have 
verified  the  facts  given  there  from  the  copy  of  the  original  papers,  which  Drum- 
mond had  preserved. 

458 


Xx.  42]  THE  ASCENT  OF  MAN  459 

the  volume  they  were  modified ;  '  edited  '  was  the  term 
used. 

Drummond  wrote  to  the  enterprising  publisher,  who 
answered  that,  though  not  legally  bound  to  do  so,  he 
would  suppress  the  edition  if  all  his  expenses  were 
paid.  As  the  edition  consisted  of  some  ten  thousand 
copies  already  printed,  Drummond  refused,  and  the 
case  was  carried  into  Court  —  the  Circuit  Court  of  the 
United  States  for  the  eastern  district  of  Pennsylvania, 
to  the  judges  of  which  it  was  presented  by  the  plain- 
tiff's agents  'in  equity.'  In  pronouncing  judgment, 
Judge  Dallas  remarked  that 

'  The  subject  of  copyright  is  not  directly  involved  in  the 
case.  The  complainant  does  not  base  his  claim  to  relief  upon 
the  statute  but  upon  his  right,  quite  distinct  from  any  con- 
ferred by  copyright,  to  protection  against  having  any  literary 
matter  published  as  his  work  which  is  not  actually  his  crea- 
tion, and,  incidentally,  to  prevent  fraud  upon  purchasers.  .  .  . 
The  defendant's  book  is  founded  on  the  matter  which  has 
appeared  in  the  British  Weekly ;  and  if  that  matter  had  been 
literally  copied,  and  so  as  not  to  misrepresent  its  character 
and  extent,  the  plaintiff  would  be  without  remedy;  but  the 
fatal  weakness  in  the  defendant's  position  is  that,  under  colour 
of  editing  the  author's  work,  he  has  represented  a  part  of  it 
as  the  whole,  and  even  as  to  the  portion  published  has  mate- 
rially departed  from  the  reports  which  he  set  up  in  justifica- 
tion. ...  A  most  important  circumstance  in  this  connection 
is  that  the  defendant,  while  precisely  adopting  his  title  from 
the  headlines  of  the  reports,  has  so  altered  their  text  as  to 
make  it  appear,  contrary  to  the  whole  tenor  of  the  reports 
themselves,  that  what  his  book  contains  is  the  precise  lan- 
guage of  the  author  of  the  lectures,  although,  as  has  been 
said,  it  contains  only  some  of  the  lectures,  not  all  of  them, 
and  presents  none  of  them  fully  or  correctly.  The  complain- 
ant's right  has  been  fully  made  out,  and  the  case  shown  is 
manifestly  one  which  calls  for  the  interposition  of  the  Court 
at  this  stage.' 


460  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1894 

Decree  was  accordingly  given,1  temporarily  restrain- 
ing the  precipitous  publisher  from  selling  his  edition. 
The  injunction  was  afterwards  made  permanent ;  the 
edition,  ten  thousand  copies,  with  the  stereotype  plates, 
was  ordered  to  be  destroyed,  and  Drummond  got  his 
costs.  It  is  said  to  have  been  '  the  first  case  in  which 
a  favourable  judgment  was  given  to  an  alien  in  such  a 
matter.' 

But  Drummond  was  obliged  to  hasten  his  own  pub- 
lication of  the  lectures,  and  after  being  able,  to  his 
chagrin,  to  spend  only  the  leisure  of  one  busy  winter 
in  revising  them,  he  sent  them  to  press  in  the  spring 
of  1894,  and  they  were  published  in  May  of  that  year. 

The  Ascent  of  Man  was  looked  for  with  the  interest 
and  the  curiosity  which  await  the  works  only  of  the 
most  popular  writers  in  literature  or  science.  But 
immediate  and  universal  as  was  the  recognition  which 
it  received,  its  author  could  not  have  expected  so 
unanimous  a  chorus  of  praise  as  had  greeted  the 
appearance  of  his  Natural  Law.  The  men  who  had 
at  first  been  carried  away  by  the  latter  remembered, 
and  were  on  their  guard.  The  author  was  not  now  a 
new  writer ;  he  had  some  enemies  and  many  jealous 
critics  in  the  camps  both  of  religion  and  of  science. 
Moreover,  the  reports  of  his  lectures  had  already  ex- 
cited the  suspicion  of  some  and  the  full-armed  hostility 
of  others.  On  the  whole,  the  criticism  of  the  reviewers 
when  it  came  was  worthy  and  without  ulterior  mo- 
tives. One  daily  paper,  indeed,  sought  persistently  to 
stir  up  ill-blood  in  the  author's  church  by  its  insinua- 
tions upon  his  adhesion  to  the  doctrines  of  Evolution ; 
one  scientific  critic  wrote  in  a  bad  temper  that  be- 
trayed him  into  scientific  error  more  grave  than  any 
with  which  he  charged  the  book;  and  Mrs.  Lynn 

1  This  judgment  was  given  at  the  October  Sessions,  1893. 


JZi.  42]  THE  ASCENT  OF  MAN  46 1 

Linton1  made  a  furious  onslaught  on  what  she  al- 
leged to  be  Drummond's  '  pseudo-science '  and  '  pla- 
giarisms,' overlooking,  as  her  critics  pointed  out,  his 
acknowledgments  of  indebtedness  to  Herbert  Spencer 
and  other  writers  on  the  very  points  with  reference  to 
which  she  made  her  serious  charges.2  But  these  were 
almost  the  only  exceptions  in  the  adverse  criticism 
which  the  book  encountered.  The  fairness  of  his 
reviewers  Drummond  himself  heartily  acknowledged. 
The  book,  as  the  critics  confessed,  had  all  the  ex- 
ternal qualities  of  his  previous  works  —  the  lucid 
style,  the  power  and  charm  of  illustration,  and  the 
many  happy  phrases.  Nor  had  it  any  less  of  the 
youthful  courage  and  enthusiasm  which  made  Natural 
Law  so  famous.  It  disarmed,  too,  a  large  number  of 

1  In  the  Fortnightly  for  September,  1894. 

2  A  very  trenchant  reply  to  the  good  lady,  whose  zeal  on  this  occasion  outran 
her  knowledge,  will  be  found  in  an  author  who  has  no  sympathy  with  Drum- 
mond's  religion,  but,  as  an  Agnostic,   attacks   this   strenuously  —  Mr.  George 
Shoorbridge  Carr,  MA.,  in  Social  Evolution  and  the  Evolution  of  Socialism  ? 
A  Critical  Essay.    London:  W.  Stewart  and  Co.,  1895.    ^  ^s  an  a^e  anc^  candid 
essay,  but  very  much  mistaken  in  its  conception  of  what  Christianity  is.     Mr.  Carr 
says  of  Mrs.  Lynn  Linton's  sentence,  that  Drummond  '  brings  his  subject,  which 
only  the  educated  can  rightly  understand,  down  to  the  level  of  the  ignorant,'  that 
it  ought  to  run :    '  He  brings  his  subject,  which  only  the  specially  educated  can 
rightly  understand,  down  to  the  level  of  ordinary  minds,'  and  adds :  '  This  is  true, 
and  it  is  to  his  everlasting  praise  that  he  does  it.'     As  to  her  charge  of  '  pseudo- 
science,'  he  points  out  that  she  has  given  no  instance,  and  he  claims  that  in  the 
main  the  science  is  correct ;   as  to  her  statement  that  '  the  philosophy  is  inadequate 
and  shallow,'  he  says  that  her  '  attempt  to  prove  it  by  the  single  instance  adduced 
of  what  she  is  pleased  to  call  "  clap-trap  "  about  the  fission  in  the  cell,  is  unfortu- 
nate, for  it  involves  her  chosen  authority,  Herbert  Spencer,  in  the  same  accusa- 
tion.'    And  he  continues :  '  Professor  Drummond's  vocation  and  object  are  quite 
different  from  those  of  Herbert  Spencer.     No  comparison  need  be  instituted.     If 
Mrs.  Linton  prefers  the  philosophic  diction  of  the  latter,  that  fact  does  not  abstract 
one  iota  from  the  value  of  the  Professor's  eloquent,  ingenious,  and  masterly  argu- 
mentation.    Thus  in  no  instance   does   Mrs.  Linton  make  good  her  sweeping 
assertions,  and  she  may  be  hoisted  with  her  own  petard.     It  is  this  wholesale, 
indiscriminating,  exaggerated  criticism,  so  easy  in  the  writing,  but  not  pleasant  in 
the  reading,  that  '  lets  slip  truth,'  that  is  '  inadequate  and  shallow,'  that  is  '  false, 
strained,  and  inconclusive.'     These  furious  onslaughts  .  .  .  are  mischievous,  for 
they  tend  to  make  a  byword  of  criticism  and  a  laughing-stock  of  the  reviewer ' 
(pp.  46  f.). 


462  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1894 

the  most  severe  critics  of  Natural  Law,  and  won  their 
praise  by  a  line  of  argument  and  by  conclusions,  set 
in  an  opposite  direction  from  those  which  had  pro- 
voked their  condemnation  of  the  earlier  volume.  In 
Natural  Law  Drummond  had  attempted  to  carry 
physical  processes  into  the  region  of  the  moral  and 
the  spiritual ;  in  the  Ascent  of  Man  he  essayed  the 
converse  task,  and  succeeded  in  showing  the  ethical 
at  work  in  regions  of  life  generally  supposed  to  be 
given  over  to  purely  physical  laws  —  or  at  least  he 
succeeded  in  exhibiting  among  the  lower  stages  of 
the  evolution  of  life  bases  and  opportunities  suitable 
for  the  action  of  moral  feelings  and  for  the  formation 
of  moral  habits.  In  the  opinion  of  the  same  critics, 
there  was  another  improvement  in  his  philosophic 
attitude  which  was  akin  to  the  one  just  described. 
Natural  Law  had  drawn  a  very  hard  and  fast  line 
through  the  universe ;  it  had  divided  human  experi- 
ence on  either  side  of  the  new  birth  into  two  kinds 
of  existence,  the  lower  of  which  was  emphasised  as 
without  capacity  for,  or  prophecy  of,  the  higher. 
Drummond  had  favoured  by  his  argument  an  oppo- 
sition between  all  man's  natural  qualities  and  powers 
on  the  one  side,  and  religion  on  the  other;  in  the 
feelings  and  the  reason  of  the  natural  man  he  had 
said  there  was  nothing  of  grace  nor  the  power  of  the 
Spirit.  He  had,  in  fact,  excommunicated  Nature,  and, 
without  intending  it,  had  given  his  support  to  a  dual- 
ism prevalent  not  only  in  some  of  the  churches,  but 
in  certain  of  the  philosophic  schools,  of  our  day,  a 
dualism  which  emphasises  the  opposition  between 
human  reason  and  (according  to  the  temper  of  the 
writer)  either  revelation,  or  grace,  or  religious  author- 
ity. Between  1883  and  1893  Drummond  had  seen 
this  dualism  develop,  and  had  recognised  its  falseness 


Mr.  42]  THE  ASCENT  OF  MAN  463 

with  a  start  which  swung  him  free  of  his  own  entangle- 
ments in  some  of  its  premises.  How  free  may  be 
seen  from  the  following  statements  in  the  Ascent  of 
Man :  — 

'  Nothing  can  ever  be  gained  by  setting  one-half  of 
Nature  against  the  other,  or  the  rational  against 
the  ultra-rational.  To  affirm  that  Altruism  is  a 
peculiar  product  of  religion  is  to  excommunicate 
nature  from  the  moral  order,  and  religion  from 
the  rational  order.' 1 

And  again — 

'  If  Nature  is  the  Garment  of  God,  it  is  woven  with- 
out seam  throughout ;  if  a  revelation  of  God,  it  is 
the  same  yesterday,  to-day,  and  forever;  if  the 
expression  of  His  Will,  there  is  in  it  no  variable- 
ness nor  shadow  of  turning.  Those  who  see 
great  gulfs  fixed  —  and  perhaps  we  have  all 
begun  by  seeing  them  —  end  by  seeing  them 
filled  up.  Were  these  gulfs  essential  to  any 
theory  of  the  universe  or  of  man,  even  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  unity  of  Nature  were  a  dear  price 
to  pay  for  obliterating  them.  But  the  apparent 
loss  is  only  gain,  and  the  seeming  gain  were  in- 
finite loss.  For  to  break  up  Nature  is  to  break 
up  Reason,  and  with  it  God  and  Man.' 

There  could  not  be  a  more  complete  recantation  of 
the  principal  philosophic  heresy  of  Natural  Law,  and 
for  such  a  recantation  the  Ascent  of  Man  received  a 
warm  welcome  from  the  most  severe  of  the  philosophic 
critics  of  its  predecessor.  Nor  was  it  in  this  respect 
any  less  welcome  to  the  theologian.  For  the  book 
vindicated  Nature,  as  also  the  sphere  of  the  God  of 

1  Ascent  of  Man,  p.  72. 


464  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1894 

Love,  and  sought  to  prove  the  presence  of  the  char- 
acteristic forces  of  Christianity — sympathy  and  self- 
sacrifice — upon  the  lower  stages  of  the  evolution  of 
man.  It  might  almost  be  said  that  Drummond  ex- 
pressed, in  the  language  and  with  the  information  of 
his  own  time,  the  vision  which  the  ancient  seer  saw 
of  the  Lamb  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the  world. 

But  having  passed  these  tests,  the  Ascent  of  Man 
had  next  to  undergo  the  examination  of  scientific  au- 
thorities as  to  the  methods  by  which  its  author  sought 
to  prove  his  great  principles.  The  book  covers  the 
evolution  of  man  both  as  an  animal,  a  rational  being, 
and  a  member  of  society.  It  draws  its  proofs  and 
illustrations  from  biology,  the  sciences  of  language 
and  of  the  origin  of  mind,  as  well  as  from  that  new 
and  interesting  department  of  modern  research  which 
deals  with  sex  and  the  beginnings  of  the  human 
family.  In  all  these  departments  Drummond  made 
use  of  the  thoughts  of  many  thinkers.  His  book 
would  never  have  been  written  without  inspiration 
derived  (not  to  speak  of  the  great  authorities  of  our 
time  in  physical  science)  from  the  investigations  and 
arguments  of  Herbert  Spencer,  Fiske,  Westermarck, 
and  others,  and  from  the  brilliant  suggestions  of  Mar- 
tineau.  Drummond  has  spoken  of  his  main  thesis, 
the  influence  upon  the  evolution  of  man  of  the  strug- 
gle for  the  life  of  others,  as  '  the  missing  factor  in 
current  theories,'  and  as  if  it  were  a  new  discovery. 
But  no  one  who  reads  his  frequent  references  to  other 
thinkers  can  honestly  believe  that  he  intended  to  take 
the  glory  of  this  discovery  to  himself ;  and  he  has  cer- 
tainly expounded  and  emphasised  the  appearances  of 
Altruism,  or  the  provocations  to  Altruism,  which  are 
present  in  the  earlier  stages  of  evolution,  as  these  had 
never  been  illustrated,  or  impressed  upon  the  public 


Mr.  42]  THE  ASCENT   OF  MAN  465 

mind  by  any  previous  writer.1  Mr.  Carr  makes  one 
criticism,  which  I  have  not  found  elsewhere.  It  is 
with  reference  to  the  distinction  which  Drummond 
draws  between  '  The  Struggle  for  Life '  and  '  The 
Struggle  for  the  Life  of  Others,'  and  the  charge 
which  Drummond  makes  against  Darwin,  of  omit- 
ting all  notice  of  the  latter  while  expounding  the 
former.  Mr.  Carr  points  out  that  when  Darwin  spoke 
of  the  '  struggle  for  life,'  and  consequent  '  survival  of 
the  fittest,'  he  had  in  view  the  struggle  of  the  species. 
The  '  struggle  for  life,'  therefore,  included  two  aspects 
—  the  struggle  for  self  and  the  struggle  for  others ;  in 
the  latter  category  the  struggle  for  the  preservation  of 
offspring  being  absolutely  necessary  for  the  continu- 
ance of  the  species.  .  .  .  Professor  Drummond  at- 
taches to  the  phrase  the  false,  restricted  meaning  of 
the  struggle  of  the  individual  for  its  own  life,  and  then 
scores  his  point  by  opposing  to  this,  in  strong  antith- 
esis, and  with  much  rhetoric,  the  '  Struggle  for  the 
Life  of  Others.'2 

By  some  critics  the  Ascent  of  Man  was  charged 
with  containing  a  number  of  errors  in  the  domain  of 
physical  science.  On  such  a  point  the  present  writer 
is  incapable  of  offering  an  opinion,  but  here  are  the 
criticisms  of  two  authorities  on  the  subject — Professor 
M'Kendrick,  of  the  Chair  of  Physiology  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Glasgow,  and  Professor  Alexander  Macalister, 
of  the  Chair  of  Anatomy  in  the  University  of  Cam- 
bridge.3 

Professor  M'Kendrick  calls  the  first  chapter  an  excellent 
account  of  the  Ascent  of  the  Body,  but  takes  exception  to  the 

1  Compare  Mr.  Can's  remarks  quoted  above,  p.  461,  n.  2. 

2  Social  Evolution,  pp.  36,  37. 

3  The  latter  reviewed  the  Ascent  of  Man  in  The  Bookman  for  June,   1894; 
the  former  reviewed  it  in  the  Critical  Review  for  October  of  the  same  year. 


466  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1894 

statement  on  p.  79  that  the  ova  of  different  animals  are 
practically  identical.  .  .  .  '  Certainly  the  highest  microscopic 
powers  can  observe  no  marked  distinction,  although  recently 
progress  has  been  made  in  this  direction,  and  we  may  be 
assured  that  physical  differences  exist.'  Of  the  same  chapter 
Professor  Macalister  says  that  'once  or  twice  his  love  for 
analogy  betrays  [the  author]  into  trivial  misconceptions,  as 
on  p.  86,  and  as  a  lecturer  he  only  deals  with  what  may  be 
regarded  as  the  sensational  points  of  his  subject.'  Both 
authorities  think  he  has  been  hardly  just  to  the  place  of  the 
ape  in  the  ancestry  of  man.  In  Chapter  II.  Dr.  M'Kendrick 
thinks  it  '  dangerous  to  reason  as  to  habits  supposed  to  have 
been  derived  from  ancestors,'  e.g.  to  infer  that  the  clutching 
power  of  a  new-born  child  is  derived  from  the  arboreal  habits 
of  animal  progenitors.  Both  Professors  reckon  the  state- 
ments in  Chapter  III.  on  'The  Arrest  of  the  Body'  to  be  in 
need  of  qualification.1  Dr.  M'Kendrick  says,  'How  unthink- 
able is  the  proposition  that  "the  slumbering  animal  brain 
broke  into  intelligence  "  :  Professor  Drummond  cuts  this  knot 
with  a  hatchet ' ;  and  finds  otherwise  on  this  point  '  some  con- 
fusion of  language.'  In  Chapter  IV.,  on  'The  Origin  of 
Mind,'  Dr.  M'Kendrick  thinks  that  the  account  of  Mr.  Wal- 
lace's opinion,  in  opposition  to  Mr.  Darwin's,  is  hardly  accu- 
rate ;  and  that  the  illustration,  which  Drummond  gives  from 
the  sensitive  plant,  'is  not  cogent,  as  few  naturalists  would 
admit  the  mimosa  possesses  sensation.  Mere  movement  is  no 
proof  of  the  psychological  condition  termed  a  sensation.' 
Nor  does  this  critic  think  the  evidence  adduced  from  the 
writings  of  George  J.  Romanes  trustworthy  'regarding  the 
correspondence  as  to  order  in  the  evolution  of  the  emotions 
in  the  animal  series  and  in  the  development  of  the  same 
emotions  in  a  child,  because  of  the  great  difficulty  in  the 
interpretation  of  the  motor  phenomena  accompanying  these 
emotions.  .  .  .  Unintentionally,  we  interpret  the  movements 
by  reading  our  own  thoughts  or  emotional  states  into  the 
creatures  we  happen  to  be  watching.  Mr.  Romanes  was  an 
excellent  observer,  but  his  work  in  the  direction  indicated 

1  Dr.  Macalister  says  '  it  would  be  enough  for  his  purpose  to  show  that  physical 
endowment  could  not  progress  at  the  same  pace  as  psychical  growth.' 


/ET.  42]  THE  ASCENT  OF  MAN  467 

was  tentative,  and  it  is  hazardous  to  treat  these  observations 
as  if  they  were  on  a  par  with  the  facts  of  comparative  anat- 
omy.1 

With  one  exception,  to  be  presently  noticed,  these 
are  all  the  defects  which  those  two  great  authorities 
find  in  the  natural  science  of  the  volume.  And  it 
cannot  be  denied  that  they  give  some  grounds  for  the 
charges  of  hasty  inference  and  exaggeration  of  the 
emphasis  on  certain  points,  which  seem  favourable  to 
the  author's  main  thesis.  Such  charges  were  chiefly 
fastened  by  many  critics  upon  that  part  of  the  chapter 
on  '  The  Struggle  for  the  Life  of  Others '  which  dis- 
covers the  appearance  of  altruism  in  the  self-multiplying 
cell.  On  this  Dr.  Macalister  says :  '  The  multiplying 
cell  may  be  the  potential,  but  can  scarcely  be  called 
the  actual  exponent  [of  the  ethical  element  in  life],  for 
in  its  origination  cell  division  is  really  selfish,  and 
solely  for  self-interest,  as  far  as  this  language  of  moral 
import  can  be  applied  to  a  biological  process.  .  .  . 
The  physiological  mechanism  of  cell  reproduction 
has  its  ultimate  base  in  the  necessity  for  small  size 
with  relatively  large  surface,  or  else  the  cell  cannot  be 
properly  fed.  If  the  division  be  regarded  as  an  act  of 
self-sacrifice,  it  is  one  which  is  submitted  to  for  a 
purely  selfish  end.'  Similarly  Dr.  M'Kendrick,  who 
adds,  '  One  cannot  help  feeling  that  in  not  a  few  of 
the  illustrations  Professor  Drummond  reads  into  the 
phenomena  of  nature  some  of  his  own  mental  moods.' 

In  his  account  of  evolution  Professor  Drummond, 
Dr.  M'Kendrick  hints,  has  emphasised  disproportion- 
ately the  favourable  features,  and  this  was  also  the 

1  Dr.  M'Kendrick  does  not  think  that  the  illustration  drawn,  in  the  last  chapter, 
from  the  Sigillaria  and  the  Stigmaria  is  quite  apt.  Their  relation  is  not  a  true 
analogy.  He  thinks  that  Professor  Drummond  lays  too  great  an  emphasis  on 
environment,  and  is  guilty  of  some  confusion  of  thought  in  endeavouring  to  blend 
the  physical  with  the  spiritual. 


468  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1894 

opinion  of  a  critic  who  approached  the  book  from  the 
standpoint  of  philosophy.  Professor  Iverach,  in  a 
review  which  called  forth  from  Drummond  a  warm 
acknowledgment  of  its  justice,1  pointed  out  that  the 
argument  of  the  book  avoided  such  difficult  questions 
as  are  raised  '  by  the  stumbling  and  the  failures  of 
evolution,  and  the  persistency  of  lower  forms  of  life 
alongside  the  higher.'  In  answer  to  this,  it  might  be 
urged  that  Drummond  had  set  himself  to  emphasise 
aspects  of  evolution,  which,  though  mentioned  by 
others,  had  not  had  full  justice  done  them;  and  it 
might  be  added  that  the  book  is  the  work  of  a  poetic 
translator  of  the  science  of  his  time  rather  than  of  an 
original  scientific  thinker.2  Still,  if  this  were  granted, 
others  might  justly  urge  that  in  imputing  ethical 
character  to  some  of  the  lower  processes  of  life, 
Drummond  sinned  also  in  art,  by  overdoing  his  case, 
and  rendering  it  open  to  ridicule. 

It  would  not  be  fair  to  give  these  adverse  criticisms 
upon  points  in  the  Ascent  of  Man  without  adding 
from  the  two  distinguished  critics  who  have  been 
quoted  their  appreciations  of  the  volume  as  a  whole. 

Professor  Macalister  says  of  it :  — 

'  The  problems  which  Professor  Drummond  has  dealt  with 
are  perplexing  and  complex,  and  there  will  probably  be  much 
difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  degree  of  success  with  which 
he  has  applied  the  biological  method  to  their  solution ;  but 
the  candid  reader  cannot  lay  down  the  book  without  feeling 
that  it  is  an  honest  and  manly  attempt  to  grapple  in  a  rev- 

1  The  review  appeared  in  the  British  Weekly  for  May  24,  1894.     On  May 
25th  Drummond  wrote  to  his  critic :  '  I  wish  I  had  had  your  own  volume  sooner, 
for  it  would  have  made  me  wiser.     It  has  already  helped  me,  and  it  will  do  much 
more  in  the  future.     Your  criticisms  are  just.     I  did  not  like  the  "  self-sacrifice  " 
passage  myself,  but  let  it  pass,  thinking  the  qualifications  strewn  through  the  book 
ad  nauseam  might  save  it.     But  it  is  not  good.' 

2  '  Not  so  much  science  as  the  poetry  of  science.'  —  Mr.  Benjamin  Kidd,  in  his 
appreciative  review  of  the  volume  in  the  Expositor  for  June,  i 894. 


JET.  42]  THE  ASCENT   OF  MAN  469 

erential  spirit  with  these  difficulties,  and  that  it  constitutes  a 
seasonable  contribution  to  the  literature  of  the  fundamental 
department  of  sociology.' 

And  Professor  M'Kendrick  says:  — 

'Towards  the  close,  Professor  Drummond  indicates  that 
the  appearance  of  Christianity  is  a  part  of  the  evolutionary 
process.  "  What  is  Evolution  ?  A  method  of  creation. 
What  is  its  object?  To  make  more  perfect  living  beings. 
What  is  Christianity  ?  A  method  of  creation.  What  is  its 
object?  To  make  more  perfect  living  beings.  Through 
what  does  Evolution  work  ?  Through  Love.  Through  what 
does  Christianity  work?  Through  Love.  Evolution  and 
Christianity  have  the  same  Author,  the  same  end,  the  same 
spirit."  This  is  the  grand  conclusion.  Still  one  is  inclined 
to  ask,  Does  Evolution  really  work  through  Love  ?  We 
wish  it  were  proven  to  be  the  case,  but  facts  seem  to  be 
against  it. 

'  We  have  not  entered  on  the  consideration  of  the  Introduc- 
tion, because  we  thought  it  better  to  let  the  lectures  speak 
for  themselves.  The  Introduction  is  an  excellent  account  of 
the  position  of  the  author  towards  the  Evolution  view,  and  it 
emphasises  the  contribution  that  the  author  has  added  to  the 
discussion,  namely,  the  recognition  of  the  great  principle  of 
the  struggle  for  others  as  a  factor  in  Evolution.  There  can 
be  no  question  that  this  is  a  substantial  contribution  to  the 
philosophy  of  the  subject,  and  it  has  never  been  put  forward 
with  such  force  and  fulness  as  by  Professor  Drummond. 
Apart  from  the  general  literary  excellence  of  the  book,  this 
is  the  part  that  will  live  in  literature,  and  this  is  the  portion 
that  will  awaken  thought  in  many  minds,  and  lead  them  to 
look  again  at  Nature.  At  present  we  feel  bound  to  say  we 
are  not  convinced,  although,  as  we  have  hinted,  nothing 
would  be  more  delightful  than  to  be  able  to  look  at  the 
struggle  going  on  in  Nature  through  Professor  Drummond's 
spectacles. 

'  As  a  contribution  to  the  discussion  of  the  great  theme  of 
Man's  relation  to  the  evolutionary  process,  the  book  must  be 
regarded  as  tentative.  The  time  has  not  yet  come  for  any- 


47O  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1894 

thing  like  a  final  statement.  The  gaps  that  science  has  yet 
to  fill  up  are  far  too  great  to  allow  us  to  frame  a  consistent 
scheme,  as  has  been  attempted  in  this  book.  The  adoption 
of  such  a  scheme  will  not  ultimately  weaken  faith,  although  it 
will  necessitate  change  of  view.  We  doubt  if  Professor  Drum- 
mond  himself  fully  realises  the  tremendous  consequences  that 
must  flow  from  a  complete  acceptance  of  the  theory  of  Evolu- 
tion as  applied  to  man  (body,  mind,  soul,  religion,  sin,  death, 
the  future)  as  we  are  at  present  advised.  A  thorough-going 
evolutionary  view  demands  a  new  theology,  and  such  funda- 
mental questions  as  the  origin  of  sin,  human  responsibility, 
the  taking  of  our  nature  by  the  Son  of  God  (as  implied  in  the 
doctrine  of  the  Trinity),  the  possibility  of  miracle,  the  possi- 
bility of  a  future  life  for  the  individual,  will  all  need  to  be 
restated  and  to  receive  fresh  answers.  No  one  could  attempt 
such  a  task  at  the  present  stage  of  the  world's  history,  as  the 
data  are  still  far  too  insufficient.  The  last  word  has  not  yet 
been  spoken  by  science  as  to  the  evolution  of  life  from  dead 
matter,  or  the  evolution  of  animal  forms,  still  less  as  to  the 
evolution  of  all  that  is  included  in  psychology  and  morals. 
Even  physical  science  is  only  struggling  to  the  light,  and 
cannot  yet  explain  Energy,  Light,  Electricity,  Gravitation, 
Matter.  More  light  will  come,  but  it  may  take  years,  hun- 
dreds of  years,  before  it  will  pierce  the  darkness  of  our 
present  ignorance,  and  enable  us  to  see  things  in  their  just 
proportions.  In  the  mean  time,  Professor  Drummond  deserves 
credit  for  the  courage  with  which  he  has  applied  the  evolu- 
tionary hypothesis  to  current  views,  for  his  attempt  to  form 
a  consistent  cosmology,  for  the  clear-sightedness  with  which 
he  sees  that  all  must  ultimately  be  explained  by  the  applica- 
tion of  one  great  Law  or  Principle  representing  the  Mind  of 
God  working  out  the  Harmony  of  His  Universe,  and  for  the 
beautiful  account  he  has  given  of  the  story  of  Evolution,  a 
story  that  reads  like  a  fairy  tale.' 

In  addition  we  may  quote  the  following  opinion  by 
Dr.  Gairdner,  F.R.S.,  Professor  of  Medicine  in  the 
University  of  Glasgow1:  — 

1  Now  Sir  William  Gairdner,  K.C.B.  The  opinion  was  expressed  in  a  let- 
ter to  Dr.  Stalker  immediately  after  H.  D.'s  death;  it  is  quoted  in  an  article 


J£T.  42]  THE  ASCENT   OF  MAN  471 

'The  earlier  book,1  while  full  of  suggestive  and  finely 
expressed  thought,  did  not  convince  me  nor  appear  to  me  a 
permanent  forward  step  in  the  Eirenicon  between  Religion 
and  Science.  The  latter  book  has,  to  my  mind,  a  far  wider 
sweep,  and  a  much  more  permanent  value  in  its  marvellously 
lucid  and  at  the  same  time  profound  exposition  of  the  root 
principles  of  altruism,  as  evolved  in  the  wide  field  of  nature. 
Nothing  that  I  have  read  on  the  subject  of  ethical  theory  has 
appeared  to  me  to  go  so  deep  or  to  be  so  convincing  as  this, 
which  makes  it  a  fundamental  part  of  God's  universe  from 
the  beginnings,  at  all  events,  of  sexual  life  therein.' 

And  finally,  we  may  take,  along  with  the  views  of 
these  scientific  authorities,  the  following  expression  of 
opinion  from  a  philosophical  standpoint.  It  is  by  the 
Rev.  D.  M.  Ross,  one  of  Drummond's  oldest  and 
closest  friends,  whose  criticism  of  the  main  thesis  of 
Natural  Law  had  been  adverse :  — 

'  If  Natural  Law  in  the  Spiritual  World  was  an  apologetic 
for  his  early  individualism,  no  less  is  the  Ascent  of  Man  an 
apologetic  for  his  later  socialism.  The  Ascent  of  Man,  whether 
we  have  regard  to  its  literary  style  or  its  intellectual  power,  is 
unquestionably  his  greatest  book.  Here  again,  for  the  study 
of  his  religious  teaching,  the  chief  interest  of  the  book  is  not 
in  its  proofs,  but  in  what  it  seeks  to  prove  —  that  love,  or  the 
struggle  for  the  life  of  others,  is  a  law  deeply  embedded  in  the 
whole  life  of  the  universe.  Love,  service,  sympathy,  sacrifice, 
co-operation,  brotherhood  —  these  were  dominant  thoughts  in 
his  own  "wider  outlook  and  social  ideal."  One  may  question 
whether  it  is  necessary  to  appeal  to  "  nature  "  for  a  sanction 
to  the  law  of  love  in  our  social  life,  and  one  may  question 
whether  the  author  is  successful  in  obtaining  from  "nature" 
the  sanction  of  which  he  is  in  search ;  but  no  one  can  read 
this  brilliant  volume  without  being  impressed  by  the  social 
enthusiasm  which  lies  behind  its  reasoning  and  eloquence. 

by  Dr.  Stalker,  « Henry  Drummond,'  in  the  Expositor,  Fifth  Series,  vol.  v.  p. 

293- 

1  Natural  Law. 


472  HENRY   DRUMMOND  [1894 

'  It  has  been  said  that  Professor  Drummond  had  already 
given  the  world  the  best  work  he  was  likely  to  achieve  before 
he  was  struck  down  in  the  prime  of  his  manhood.  It  seems 
to  me  that  there  are  indications  in  the  Ascent  of  Man  that, 
had  he  been  spared,  he  would  have  given  us  work  of  a  still 
higher  quality.  The  concluding  chapter  on  Involution  shows 
an  appreciation  of  the  import  of  an  idealistic  philosophy 
which  is  a  new  feature  in  his  thinking.  "  Are  we  even  quite 
sure  that  what  we  call  a  physical  world  is,  after  all,  a  physical 
world  ?  .  .  .  The  very  term  '  material  world,'  we  are  told,  is 
a  misnomer,  that  the  world  is  a  spiritual  world,  merely  em- 
ploying '  matter '  for  its  manifestations."  "  Evolution  is  not 
progress  in  matter.  Matter  cannot  progress.  It  is  a  prog- 
ress in  spirit,  in  that  which  is  limitless,  in  that  which  is  at 
once  most  human,  most  rational,  most  divine."  "  Evolution 
is  Advolution ;  better,  it  is  revelation  —  the  phenomenal 
expression  of  the  divine,  the  progressive  realisation  of  the 
ideal,  the  ascent  of  Love."  I  cannot  help  feeling  that  Pro- 
fessor Drummond  hampered  himself  needlessly  by  seeking 
arguments  for  the  laws  of  the  spiritual  world  in  Nature. 
The  sentences  I  have  quoted  show  how  he  was  beginning  to 
work  himself  free  of  this  hampering  influence  by  recognising 
that  spirit  is  the  prius  of  matter,  that  nature  is  itself  only 
interpretable  through  the  mind  of  man,  or  (to  use  his  own 
phrase)  the  spiritual  world.  No  one  could  have  adopted  a 
more  hospitable  attitude  towards  new  truth.  Had  he  lived 
to  follow  out  the  hints  contained  in  the  last  chapter  of  the 
Ascent  of  Man,  he  had  it  in  him  to  do  work  as  an  Evangelist 
to  the  scientific  and  cultured  classes  for  which  the  great 
work  he  has  already  done  would  have  seemed  but  a  prepara- 
tion.' 


CHAPTER   XVIII 

BOYS  AND  THE  BOYS'  BRIGADE 

NOT  only  did  Henry  Drummond  preserve  the  mem- 
ory of  his  boyhood,  as  the  pure  do,  but  to  the  end  he 
remained  a  boy,  happy,  whole-hearted  and  unspoiled. 
None  could  be  fuller  of  the  love  of  sport  or  of  the 
spirit  of  fun  than  he.  He  would  have  confessed  that 
his  chief  liking  was  for  a  fire,  a  launch,  or  a  football 
match.  He  had  climbed  to  the  height  of  experience, 
and  success ;  he  was  on  familiar  terms  with  the  greatest 
men  of  his  generation ;  but  some  angel  had  blessed 
him  with  the  fortunate  gift  of  still  being  able  to  look 
out  on  life  from  the  level  of  a  boy's  eyes,  and  nothing 
in  him  was  more  attractive  than  his  wonder  at  a  new 
engine,  or  his  awe  of  every  great  man  whom  he 
encountered  for  the  first  time.  Many  men,  when  in 
all  sincerity  they  '  humble  themselves  and  become  as 
little  children,'  do  so  awkwardly  and  with  a  clatter; 
they  tumble  down  to  the  children's  level,  and  are 
childlike  only  by  being  boisterous.  But  he  had  never 
left  that  level.  I  always  think  of  him  as  the  fulfilment 
of  the  broken  dream  of  which  Mr.  Wendell  Holmes 
tells  us  so  prettily  in  one  of  his  poems :  Drummond 
had  the  secret  of  being  a  boy  without  leaving  his 
manhood  behind  him. 

This  brought  him  great  influence  with  boys,  and  he 
won  their  love  without  difficulty.  To  us  who  were  his 
contemporaries,  nothing  gave  more  pleasure  than  to 
discover,  when  we  had  boys  of  our  own,  all  the  way 
from  seven  to  seventeen,  how  quickly  they  too  became 

473 


474  HENRY   DRUMMOND 

his  friends.  He  was  amazingly  fertile  in  surprising 
their  wishes.  Every  new  book  a  boy  could  love,  every 
new  game  or  puzzle,  on  these  he  was  our  trusted 
adviser.  A  children's  party  was  sure  to  go  off  well  if 
he  was  there.  When  boys  were  at  school  or  parents 
from  home,  his  visits  to  those,  his  letters  to  these,  were 
things  to  be  remembered  for  many  a  day.  In  deeper 
things  it  was  the  same.  He  read  a  boy's  heart,  under- 
stood his  temptations,  and  knew  on  what  side  religion 
touched  him.  Lads  who  shirked  religious  meetings 
did  not  shirk  those  which  Drummond  held  after  they 
had  heard  him  once.  His  services  for  boys  in  Edin- 
burgh were  happy  and  unforced.  In  style  (it  almost 
goes  without  saying)  his  addresses  had  nothing  about 
them  of  the  conventional  or  condescending  —  the  '  my- 
dear-young-friends '  attitude.  In  substance  they  were 
true  to  his  maxim  that  '  a  boy's  religion  must  be  his 
own,  and  ought  not  to  be  his  grandmother's  or  his 
aunt's.'  What  he  counted  such  a  religion  to  be,  may 
be  found  in  First !  printed  for  the  Boys'  Brigade,  or 
in  Baxter  s  Second  Innings.  Here  we  may  give  a  few 
of  his  letters  only  to  show  how  happy  he  was  with 
boys,  and  what  trouble  he  took  to  be  kind  to  them. 
The  first  is  in  anticipation  of  a  visit  that  some  brothers 
were  about  to  pay  him  in  Glasgow.  It  is  to  their 
mother. 

'Feb.  28  [year  not  given]. 

'.  .  .  The  boys  will  swagger  in  later.  Private. — 
Can  you  indicate  anything  in  the  wide  world 
which  I  could  buy,  borrow,  or  steal  which  could 
make  them  happy:  anything  edible,  drinkable, 
scentable,  seeable,  or  feelable  which  could  give 
them  delight.  Perhaps  there  is  nothing;  but 
most  boys  have  a  particular  brand  of  chocolate 
or  something.' 


BOYS  AND  THE  BOYS'   BRIGADE  475 

He  sent  Baxter  s  Second  Innings  to  a  young  friend 
before  he  published  it. 

<3,  PARK  CIRCUS,  GLASGOW,  Oct.  8,  1891. 

'  Boys  are  so  terribly  cute  that  I  must  have  an  old 
boy's  opinion  before  I  can  venture  to  print  this  ! 
You  will  notice  there  is  a  minimum  of  direct 
religion,  but  that  is  designed.' 

To  another  who  wrote  asking  if  he  might  pay  a 
visit  there  came  on  a  card  this  reply :  — 

b  MR.  H.  DRUMMOND  <t> 

•  &  °  > 

v£»  very  much  <y 

•/  AT   HOME  V, 

^  on  tb 

&  Friday,  March  ist  *Jfc 

^J>  From  6  P.M. 

J 

till 
y  All  Hours. 

The  Hippodrome, 
Feb.  28,  1889. 

To  the  same  boys,  in  1889,  he  sent  examination 
papers.  Here  are  some  of  the  questions:  — 

'  HISTORY 

'  i.    Give  a  short  life  of  Piggott. 

'  2.  Where  was  Major  Whittle  born  ?  contrast  him  briefly 
with  Wellington,  Napoleon,  General  Booth,  General  Tom 
Thumb,  and  the  General  Supply  Stores. 

'  3.  Who  was  Lord  Fauntleroy,  and  what  were  his  chief 
battles  ? 

'  4.  How  long  did  it  take  Dante  to  "  climb  the  mountain  "  ? 
and  what  is  the  shortest  time  it  has  ever  been  done  in  ?  Who 
first  beat  Dante's  record  ? 

'  5.    Are  you  a  Home- Ruler  ?     If  so,  why  not  ? 


47^  HENRY  DRUMMOND 

'  DOMESTIC  ECONOMY 

'  i .    What  is  the  retail  price  of  sausages  ? 

'  2.  Name  the  two  best  brands  of  shortbread.  What  is 
longbread,  and  how  does  it  differ  from  high-bred  ? 

'  3.  Discuss  the  following :  "  Has  the  Discoverer  of  Chloro- 
form or  of  Beanbags  done  the  most  for  humanity  ? " 

'4.  How  would  you  spend  2d.  if  you  got  it  ?  Subtract  \d. 
from  2.d.y  and  parse  the  remainder. 

'  PHYSIOLOGY 

'  i.  Define  the  term  "  Get-your-hair-cut,"  and  say  if  Red 
Hair  is  Hair-red-itary. 

'  2.    Where  was  your  face  before  it  was  washed  ? ' 

When  he  was  at  Dax,  in  the  Pyrenees,  in  1895,  one 
of  the  same  brothers  wrote  him  that  he  had  discovered 
a  skeleton  in  the  gravels  of  the  river  Garrie  in  Perth- 
shire. The  skull  had  two  '  clours '  in  the  back  of  it, 
signs  that  it  had  belonged  to  some  fugitive  from  the 
battle  of  Killiecrankie,  caught  from  behind  as  he  fled 
south.  Drummond  wrote  this  reply,  while  he  was 
lying  on  his  back,  racked  with  the  pains  of  his  last 
illness.  The  'fama '  is  a  reference  to  the  attacks 
made  upon  his  Ascent  of  Man  by  some  Highland 
Presbyteries.  The  card  is  undated :  — 

'  MONSIEUR,  —  Honoured  as  I  am  by  any  communi- 
cation from  you,  I  cannot  but  be  aware  of  the 
motive  which  has  induced  you  to  acquaint  me 
with  your  disgusting  discoveries.  No,  Sir,  /  did 
NOT  kill  that  man.  Doubtless  he  was  fishing 
with  WORM,  and  therefore  was  worthy  of  Death ; 
but  if  you  judge  my  hand  did  this  deed,  the 
suggestion  is  the  product  of  a  disordered  intelli- 
gence, and  I  have  witnesses  to  prove  an  Alibi. 
I  beg,  Sir,  that  this  fama  clamosa  —  which,  as 


BOYS   AND  THE   BOYS'   BRIGADE  477 

I  am  credibly  informed,  has,  to  my  grievous 
hurt,  already  spread  to  Dingwall  and  the  borders 
thereof  —  be  immediately  arrested,  and  that  you 
will  cease  to  trouble  the  short  nights  and  linger- 
ing days  of  a  Poor  Invalid  with  Base  Suspicions. 
—  Your  obedient  servant, 

D(AX): 


But  it  was  not  only  the  sons  of  his  friends  whom 
Drummond  loved.  He  studied,  for  he  loved,  the  Boy, 
wherever  he  found  him.  In  Glasgow,  message  and 
telegraph  boys,  the  urchins  that  play  football  behind 
the  policeman's  back,  and  the  little  ragamuffin  bands 
which  used  some  years  ago  to  parade  the  streets  with 
penny  whistles  and  tin  pails,  —  these  were  his  con- 
stant entertainment.  He  was  always  stopping  you 
to  watch  some  of  them.  Here  is  a  picture  he  drew 
from  his  own  windows  :  — 

'  What  are  these  creatures  shambling  up  the  cres- 
cent? These  are  two  message-boys.  And  who 
is  that  troglodyte  roosting  on  the  railing  ?  That 
is  Drake's  boy,  waiting  on  Peel's  boy  and  Smellie's 
boy.  Why  does  he  wait?  Because  he  never 
travels  alone  ;  secondly,  because  he  has  infinite 
time.  Do  they  shake  hands  when  they  meet? 
No  :  Drake's  boy  puts  out  his  foot  and  trips  up 
Peel's  boy.  What  does  Peel's  boy  do?  He 
rises  in  haste  and  smites  him  with  a  leg  of 
mutton.  Are  they  now  enemies?  No;  these 
are  proofs  of  attachment.  After  burnishing  the 
leg  of  mutton,  they  sit  down  to  discuss  the  uni- 
verse —  i.e.  the  street,  the  pantomime,  and  one 
Kidd,  a  pirate. 

'  Why  does  Smellie's  boy  go  off  by  himself  and 
yell  ?  If  he  did  not  do  that,  he  would  burst.  He 


HENRY  DRUMMOND 

does  not  know  he  is  yelling.  Why  does  he  lay 
down  his  basket  and  dance  ?  Hush !  do  not 
betray  him.  All  boys  do  that  when  they  are 
alone.  Does  he  look  ashamed  if  you  see  him  ? 
No;  boys  never  look  anything.  Will  he  come 
to,  if  you  leave  him  ?  Yes ;  he  will  whistle  pres- 
ently, and  calm  down.  How  much  does  he  get 
for  this  ?  Four-and-sixpence  a-week.' 1 

Since. the  days  when  he  taught  in  the  Sunday-schools 
of  the  Edinburgh  Cowgate,  he  had  been  face  to  face 
with  the  religious  problem  of  our  city-boys ;  when  he 
came  to  Glasgow  he  felt  its  urgency  still  more ;  and 
in  addition,  there  were  pressed  upon  his  observation 
one  or  two  painful  facts  concerning,  in  particular, 
message-boys,  and  still  more,  message-girls.  I  do  not 
know  whether  the  evil  continues,  but  some  years  ago 
it  was  not  uncommon  for  boys  and  girls  to  be  sent 
from  shops  with  baskets  or  parcels  far  too  heavy  for 
them.  Drummond  tested  some  of  the  weights  him- 
self, while  helping  these  poor  children  along  the  street, 
and  found  them  cruelly  overladen.  In  some  cases, 
the  constant  carriage  of  a  heavy  basket  on  the  elbow 
drew  round  the  shoulder-blade  and  rendered  the  child 
slightly  deformed  for  life.  Drummond  saw  the  folly 
of  using  a  child's  elbow  to  hook  on  to  a  great  burden, 
and  he  had  baskets  made  to  strap  over  the  shoulders 
and  rest  on  the  back  like  a  knapsack.  Several  trades- 
men in  Glasgow  adopted  these,  and  we  used  to  see 
them  in  use  on  the  streets.  I  have  not  seen  any  for 
several  years. 

But  the  moral  problem  of  the  city-boy  was  a  much 
harder  one,  and  there  was  nothing  in  existence  which 
had  quite  solved  it.  In  many  Sunday-schools  the 

1  From  article  in  Good  Words  printed  by  the  Boys'  Brigade. 


BOYS  AND  THE  BOYS'   BRIGADE  479 

discipline  was  genuine ;  and  here  and  there  teachers 
of  rough  boys  not  only  interested  them  on  Sunday, 
but  kept  in  touch  with  them  through  the  rest  of  the 
week.  To  this  extent  Drummond's  wholesale  criticism 
of  Sunday-schools,  which  we  shall  presently  quote, 
needs  qualification,  as  indeed  he  himself  hints.  But 
of  a  very  large  proportion  of  Sunday-schools,  whether 
in  the  rougher  or  more  respectable  parts  of  our  cities, 
every  word  he  says  is  true.  The  discipline  was  fitful, 
and  often  secured  only  by  threats  of  exclusion  from 
the  winter  soiree  and  summer  trip,  for  the  sake  of 
which  many  children  would  attend  two  or  three  schools 
in  the  course  of  one  Sunday.  Beyond  an  occasional 
visit  to  the  homes  of  their  boys,  or  having  them  once 
a  year  at  their  own  houses,  the  teachers  did  nothing 
to  control  or  refine  the  life  of  their  pupils.  The  crisis 
was  becoming  desperate,  for  a  large  number  of  teachers 
annually  deserted  a  work  of  which  they  recognised 
the  futility,  and  for  which  they  knew  of  no  other 
methods. 

To  one  teacher  who  had  felt  all  this  the  happy 
inspiration  came  of  bringing  down  upon  the  older 
boys  the  methods  of  military  discipline.  Mr.  W.  A. 
Smith  was  a  Glasgow  merchant,  a  lieutenant  in  the 
ist  Lanarkshire  Rifle  Volunteers,  and  a  Sunday-school 
teacher,  with  good  business  capacity,  soldierly  effi- 
ciency, a  sound  judgment,  and  a  real  love  for  boys. 
On  October  4,  1883,  Mr.  Smith  formed  thirty  of  the 
pupils  of  his  own  school  —  the  Mission  School  of  Col- 
lege Free  Church  —  into  a  company,  and  tried  upon 
them  the  effects  of  regular  drill.  This  was  the  first 
company  of  the  now  famous  Boys'  Brigade.  The 
experiment  succeeded  so  well  that  it  was  imitated  in 
some  other  schools;  the  movement  won  the  confidence 
of  several  men  of  position  in  Glasgow  and  other  Scot- 


480  HENRY  DRUMMOND 

tish  towns;  and  at  last,  in  January,  1885,  the  Brigade 
was  formally  constituted  as  a  national  organisation. 
The  movement  rapidly  spread,  companies  were  formed 
in  every  part  of  the  kingdom,  and  in  connection  with 
nearly  every  branch  of  the  Christian  Church. 

The  object  of  the  Brigade  was  denned  as  '  The 
advancement  of  Christ's  kingdom  among  boys  and  the 
promotion  of  habits  of  obedience,  reverence,  discipline, 
self-respect,  and  all  that  tends  towards  a  true  Christian 
manliness.'  The  Brigade  seeks  '  to  secure  this  object 
through  the  agency  of  military  drill  and  discipline,  as 
a  means  whereby  boys  are  attracted,  held  together, 
and  brought  into  a  receptive  attitude  for  the  religious 
teaching  and  guiding,  which  is  the  main  work  of  the 
Brigade.' 1  Each  company  is  attached  to  some  Church 
or  other  Christian  organisation,  which  is  held  respon- 
sible for  everything  connected  with  the  formation  of 
the  company,  for  the  nomination  of  suitable  officers, 
and  for  the  religious  teaching  of  the  Boys.  The 
management  of  the  Brigade  is  committed  to  an  execu- 
tive of  fifteen  members,  elected  annually  by  the  council, 
which  represents  every  company  in  the  Brigade. 
The  headquarters  are  in  Glasgow,2  but  the  annual 
gatherings  of  the  council  and  the  periodical  meetings 
of  the  executive  are  held  in  different  large  cities 
throughout  the  kingdom.  The  patron  is  H.R.H.  the 
Duke  of  York,  the  vice-patron  His  Grace  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury,  and  the  honorary  president,  the 
Earl  of  Aberdeen.  In  1883  there  was  the  single  com- 
pany with  three  officers  and  thirty  boys.  On  May 
31,  1898,  the  returns  for  the  United  Kingdom  were 
786  companies,  with  2828  officers  and  34,209  boys. 

1  From  a  Memorandum  by  Mr.  J.  Carfrae  Alston  of  Glasgow,  the  Brigade 
President,  to  which  I  am  indebted  for  most  of  what  follows. 

2  Full  information  may  be  procured  from  Mr.  W.  A.  Smith,  the  Secretary,  at 
162,  Buchanan  Street,  Glasgow. 


BOYS  AND  THE  BOYS'  BRIGADE  481 

The  district  battalions  are  inspected  annually  at  their 
centres  by  military  officers.  Among  those  who  have 
acted  as  inspectors,  and  have  expressed  high  com- 
mendation of  the  discipline  and  efficiency  of  the  bat- 
talions they  have  reviewed,  have  been  Field- Marshals 
Lord  Wolseley,  Lord  Roberts,  and  Sir  Donald  Stewart, 
General  Chapman  commanding  Her  Majesty's  Forces 
in  Scotland,  and  other  distinguished  soldiers.  From 
Great  Britain  the  movement  has  spread  to  the  United 
States,  Canada,  the  West  Indies,  South  Africa,  Aus- 
tralia, New  Zealand,  and  India.  The  numbers  in  these 
countries,  when  added  to  the  Home  Brigade,  made  a 
grand  total  of  1550  companies,  5400  officers,  and 
67,500  boys. 

The  Brigade  is  neither  Presbyterian  nor  bound  to 
any  other  denomination.  Nor  is  it  confined  either  to 
the  Churches  established  by  law  or  to  Dissent.  The 
Church  of  England  and  the  Episcopal  Church  of 
Ireland  are  largely  represented  on  its  strength,  and 
throughout  the  kingdom  most  of  the  other  Christian 
organisations  give  it  full  support.  The  Roman 
Catholic  Church  in  Ireland  and  elsewhere  has  adopted 
the  methods  of  the  Brigade ;  and  the  Jewish  com- 
munity in  London  has  found  that  these  can  be  adapted 
to  the  religious  training  which  they  give  their  boys. 

The  movement  had  to  make  its  way  at  first  in 
face  of  hostile  criticism,  chiefly  from  those  who  were 
alarmed  at  its  military  side,  and  were  ignorant  of  what 
was  behind.  But  the  sound  sense  of  its  promoters,  the 
sincerity  of  the  religious  aims  of  the  officers,  and  the 
manifest  effect  upon  the  conduct  and  character  of  all 
the  schools  in  which  companies  were  formed,  very 
speedily  silenced  objectors,  and  the  Brigade  has  be- 
come established  as  one  of  the  unquestioned  religious 
forces  of  our  time. 


482  HENRY   DRUMMOND 

The  distinguishing  feature  of  the  organisation  is 
that  it  has  two  sides  —  the  military  and  religious  — 
which  are  not  separate,  but  closely  interwoven.  The 
first  is  the  letter  of  the  movement,  the  language, 
the  means,  the  discipline ;  the  second  is  the  spirit,  the 
significance,  the  power,  the  final  aim  and  purpose.  By 
the  first,  the  methods  of  which  have  caught  their  fancy 
to  a  quite  remarkable  extent,  the  boys  have  been  brought 
under  a  control  rarely,  if  ever,  attained  by  the  methods 
common  to  most  Sunday-schools.  They  take  the  Bri- 
gade seriously,  perform  the  duties  with  alacrity,  and 
obey  the  restrictions  which  it  imposes  upon  them.  A 
boy  takes  readily  to  drill  because  he  enjoys  it.  And  it 
is  this  liking  that  first  brings  him  within  range  of  the 
good  influences  by  which  he  is  to  be  surrounded  in 
his  company.  Then  there  grow  upon  him  the  feelings 
of  strength  in  union,  of  joint  responsibility,  and  of  the 
dependence  of  the  boys  upon  each  other,  —  all  of 
which  by  themselves  produce  within  him  acquiescence 
in  that  wonderful  pressure  of  discipline  that  is  calcu- 
lated to  bring  important  and  permanent  changes  upon 
his  character.  Those  in  charge  of  the  movement, 
however,  have  been  very  careful  that  its  military  side 
shall  not  be  carried  further  than  is  necessary.  While 
the  formation  of  companies  involves  the  appointment 
of  officers,  aping  of  the  style  of  a  military  force  is 
avoided.  The  uniform  is  limited  to  a  cap,  belt,  and 
haversack,  added  to  the  ordinary  clothing  of  the  boys. 
A  cross-belt  and  chevron  distinguish  the  sergeants, 
and  the  officers  wear  a  suitable  cap  and  carry  a  cane. 
This  simplicity  does  not  prevent  the  drill  being  of  the 
very  best  quality.  It  is  the  Army  Drill  laid  down  by 
the  War  Office  in  the  Official  '  Red-Book,'  and  in 
many  instances  it  has  been  brought  to  a  remarkable 
perfection. 


BOYS  AND  THE  BOYS'  BRIGADE  483 

But  while  this  external  evidence  of  the  Brigade 
is  that  which  is  most  conspicuous  to  the  public, 
the  deeper  and  the  principal  operations  of  the  move- 
ment are  upon  the  religious  side.  The  personal  deal- 
ing with  each  boy  in  relation  to  religion,  to  his  home, 
to  his  companions  and  his  amusements,  is  not  a  thing 
to  be  paraded,  but  it  is  here  that  the  strength  of  the 
Brigade  lies;  and  just  in  proportion  as  this  inner  work 
has  been  genuine,  the  movement  has  earned  its  great 
success.  The  Brigade  is  not  a  conglomeration  of  drill- 
classes.  Religion  permeates  it  in  every  department. 
The  religion  of  the  Company  Bible-class  is  the  same 
as  that  of  the  drill-meeting,  the  recreation-room,  and 
the  club  for  cricket,  football,  or  athletics,  which  is 
attached  to  the  company.  It  is  sought  to  make  the 
boys  realise  that  religion  is  for  the  whole  life  of  a  boy, 
and  not  merely  for  one  day  in  the  week. 

From  this  it  will  be  seen  how  much  depends  on  the 
company  officers.  A  company  officer  not  only  main- 
tains discipline,  gives  orders,  and  brings  the  drill  up 
to  a  high  standard.  He  is  the  friend  and  guide  of  his 
boys,  the  home  visitor,  the  superintendent  of  sports, 
and  the  Bible-class  teacher.  He  conducts  the  short 
service  at  drill  and  gives  the  tone  to  the  whole  life  of 
the  company.  If  he  be  the  right  man,  he  can  so 
mould  the  boyhood  of  our  land  that  Christ's  kingdom 
shall  be  truly  advanced.  Now,  one  of  the  successes 
of  the  movement  has  been  to  secure  a  supply  of  able 
and  devoted  young  men  to  act  as  company  officers. 
When  Lord  Roberts  came  to  inspect  the  Glasgow 
battalion,  he  was  satisfied  with  the  discipline  and  drill 
of  the  boys ;  but  more  than  once  he  expressed  his  ad- 
miration that  so  many  young  men  of  the  requisite  skill 
and  earnestness  should  have  been  found  to  act  as 
officers,  and  he  repeatedly  praised  their  diligence 


484  HENRY  DRUMMOND 

in  a  cause  so  unselfish  and  so  practical.  They  have 
their  reward.  There  is  nowhere  at  the  present  day 
such  a  field  for  young  men  who  desire  to  work  for  the 
community  in  the  spirit  of  Christ. 

I  have  thus  fully  described  the  Boys'  Brigade,  be- 
cause from  the  first  the  movement  won  Henry  Drum- 
mond's  heart,  and  secured  his  hearty  and  deliberate 
co-operation.  He  was  consulted  by  its  promoters,  en- 
tered its  councils,  became  an  Honorary  Vice- President, 
frequently  addressed  its  members,  wrote  books  for 
them,  and  pleaded  for  them  before  the  public  both  on 
platforms  and  by  articles.  He  started  the  movement 
in  Australia,  and  laboured  for  it  strenuously  in  the 
United  States  and  Canada.  Next  to  his  own  work 
among  the  Edinburgh  students,  there  was  no  institu- 
tion of  our  time  to  which  he  gave  more  thought  in 
the  last  ten  years  of  his  life,  or  of  which  he  used  to 
speak  up  to  the  very  end  with  more  satisfaction  and 
more  hope.  I  have  quoted l  the  opening  of  his  article 
in  Good  Words.  Here  are  some  more  extracts :  — 

'  The  boy  is  accounted  for  by  the  Evolution  Theory. 
His  father  was  the  Primitive  Man.  It  is  only  his 
being  in  a  town  and  his  mispronunciation  that 
make  you  think  he  is  not  a  savage.  What  he 
represents  is  Capacity ;  he  is  clay,  dough,  putty. 
This  boy  cannot  as  yet  walk  straight,  or  dress 
better,  or  brush  his  hair.  He  is  not  good.  He 
is  not  bad.  He  has  no  soul.  He  has  not  even 
soap.  He  is  simply  Boy,  pure,  unwashed,  unre- 
generate  Boy.  Can  anything  be  done  for  him? 
Yes,  a  very  great  invention  has  appeared ;  it  is 
known  to  the  initiated  as  the  "  B.B."  Until  the 
"  B.B."  was  discovered,  scarcely  any  one  knew 

1  See  above,  p.  477  f. 


BOYS  AND  THE  BOYS'   BRIGADE  485 

how  to  make  a  man,  a  gentleman,  and  a  Christian 
out  of  a  message-boy.  The  thing  had  happened, 
perhaps,  as  a  chance  or  sport,  but  there  was  no 
steady  machinery  for  it.  Specimens  could  be 
turned  out  at  the  rate  of  a  score  or  two  in  a  year, 
but  under  the  New  Process  you  have  them  by  the 
battalion.  The  message-boy  of  the  close  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  in  fact,  will  soon  become  a 
tradition.  All  that  will  remain  of  him  will  be  a 
basket  and  a  woollen  comforter. 

'  Like  all  really  great  inventions,  the  New  Process 
is  very  simple.  It  rises  naturally  out  of  a  process 
already  in  use,  or  rather  in  uselessness,  for  the 
Old  Process  rarely  effected  anything.  Let  us 
suppose  you  have  gathered  a  Sunday-class  of 
boys,  and  treat  them  at  first  on  the  old  or  time- 
dishonoured  plan.  Infinite  trouble  and  infinite 
bribery  have  brought  these  creatures  together; 
and  as  they  come  solely  to  amuse  themselves, 
your  whole  effort  is  spent  in  keeping  order  —  in 
quelling  riots,  subduing  irrelevant  remarks,  mini- 
mising attacks  upon  the  person,  and  protecting 
your  Sunday  hat  from  destruction.  No  boy,  you 
know  perfectly,  has  yet  succeeded  in  listening  to 
you  for  two  consecutive  minutes.  They  have 
learned  nothing  whatever.  Respect  is  unknown, 
obedience  a  jest.  Even  the  minor  virtues  of 
regularity,  punctuality,  and  courtesy  have  not  yet 
dawned  upon  their  virgin  minds. 

'  What  is  wrong  is  that  they  have  no  motive,  no 
interest,  and  you  have  not  tried  to  find  these  for 
them.  They  are  street-boys,  and  you  have  treated 
them  as  if  they  had  the  motives  and  interests  of 
domestic  boys.  The  real  boy-nature  in  them  has 
never  been  consulted.  You  may  be  a  very  re- 


486  HENRY  DRUMMOND 

markable  man,  but  it  is  not  their  kind  of  remark 
ableness,  so  you  are  a  person  of  no  authority  in 
their  eyes.  You  may  be  a  walking  biblical 
cyclopaedia,  but  they  have  no  interest  even  in  a 
stationary  biblical  cyclopaedia.  They  believe  you 
to  be  a  thoroughly  good  fellow  in  your  way,  only 
it  is  an  earth's  diameter  from  their  way ;  and  that 
you  should  know  precisely  what  their  way  is  they 
guilelessly  give  you  opportunity  of  learning  every 
single  second  you  spend  among  them. 

'  One  night,  after  the  usual  emeute,  you  retire  from 
the  place  of  torture  vowing  to  attempt  some 
change.  Next  morning  you  betake  yourself  to 
the  Headquarters  of  the  New  Process  and  deter- 
mine to  explore  its  secret.  The  whole  art  and 
mystery  of  making  Boys  is  explained  to  you ;  the 
whole  process  of  cleaning,  restoring,  renovating 
them ;  of  clothing  them  and  putting  them  into  a 
right  mind,  of  giving  them  a  sound  body  and  a 
reasonable  soul.  And  at  your  preparation-hour 
the  following  Saturday  night,  instead  of  trying  to 
find  out  whether  the  Israelites  crossed  the  Red 
Sea  by  the  shoals  at  Suez  or  went  round,  "  as 
some  say,"  by  Wady  Tawarik,  you  read  up  the 
literature  of  the  "  B.B.,"  and  learn  how  the  chil- 
dren of  your  own  city  can  be  led  across  the  more 
difficult  sea  of  life's  temptations. 

'  When  you  faced  your  Boys  the  next  night,  the  New 
Process  bursting  within  you,  they  discerned  at  a 
glance  that  something  was  going  to  happen.  To 
be  sure  a  carefully  planned  mutiny  was  to  come 
off  that  night  on  their  part,  but  the  look  of  you 
arrests  them,  and  they  delay  hostilities  to  give  you 
one  more  chance.  You  confide  to  them  that  next 
Thursday  evening  you  are  going  to  secure  a  hall, 


BOYS  AND  THE  BOYS'  BRIGADE  487 

and  if  they  will  meet  you  there  at  eight  o'clock 
they  will  spend  the  most  wonderful  night  of  their 
lives.  Yourself  and  a  friend  who  is  an  Officer  in 
the  Volunteers  are  going  to  tell  them  all  about 
Drill  and  teach  them  exactly  how  it  is  to  be  done. 
You  promise,  moreover,  by  and  by,  to  bring  caps 
and  belts,  which  they  may  have  for  the  price  of  a 
few  Sons  of  Britannia,  and  hint  that  in  time  a 
haversack  may  be  entertained,  and  a  band,  and 
stripes,  and  prizes,  and  even  a  rifle,  which,  though 
warranted  not  to  go  off,  will  yet  be  a  weapon  of 
no  mean  calibre.  After  a  few  other  details  of  an 
equally  enticing  nature,  the  mine  is  fairly  sprung, 
and  with  a  very  brief  postscript  on  the  Israelites 
you  bring  to  a  triumphant  close  the  first  successful 
class-meeting  in  your  experience. 
*  Next  Thursday,  strange  contrast  to  all  Sunday  pre- 
cedents, every  Boy  is  on  the  spot  at  the  hour.  In- 
stead of  the  wandering,  bored  look,  every  eye  is 
transfixed  on  the  brown-paper  parcel  which,  with 
newly  acquired  cunning,  you  have  labelled  "  Ac- 
coutrements "  —  not  that  they  know  the  word,  but 
they  feel  sure  it  is  something  military.  After  cap- 
ping and  belting  them,  —  though  this  is  not  lawful 
at  this  early  stage,  —  and  standing  them  up  in  a 
row,  you  proceed  to  business.  You  do  not  start 
off  with  the  old  injured  Sunday  air,  "  Now,  Boys, 
behave  yourselves."  There  are  no  Boys  in  the 
room.  These  are  privates,  full  privates.  You  do 
not  cringe  before  them  and  beg  and  implore  atten- 
tion. You  pull  yourself  together  and  shout  out 
that  last  word,  "  'Tenshun,"  like  an  explosion,  and 
the  very  change  of  accent  to  the  last  syllable  par- 
alyses the  whole  row  into  rigid  statues.  Follow- 
ing up  this  sudden  advantage  you  keep  them 


488  HENRY   DRUMMOND 

moving  —  marching,  halting,  marking  time,  and 
doubling,  till  they  are  dropping  with  fatigue. 
What  liberties  you  take  'this  blessed  night !  No 
lion-king  making  his  wild  beasts  jump  through 
hoops  could  be  prouder  of  himself.  You  order 
them  about  like  an  emperor.  You  criticise  their 
hands,  their  faces,  their  feet  —  even  their  boots  — 
without  a  murmur  of  dissent.  Number  Five's 
hair  is  pilloried  before  the  whole  company,  and 
he  actually  takes  it  as  a  compliment.  Eleven's 
coat  has  a  tear  across  the  breast  which  is  de- 
nounced as  unmilitary,  and  he  is  ordered  to  have 
it  repaired  on  penalty  of  the  guardroom.  If  Three 
of  the  rear  rank  again  kicks  Two  of  the  front  rank 
he  will  be  put  into  a  dungeon.  Any  private  absent 
from  drill  next  Thursday  will  be  branded  as  a 
deserter,  while  unwashed  hands  will  be  a  case  for 
a  court-martial. 

'  Amazing  and  preposterous  illusion !  Call  these 
Boys,  Boys,  which  they  are,  and  ask  them  to  sit 
up  in  a  Sunday-class,  and  no  power  on  earth  will 
make  them  do  it ;  but  put  a  fivepenny  cap  on  them 
and  call  them  soldiers,  which  they  are  not,  and  you 
can  order  them  about  till  midnight.  The  genius 
who  discovered  this  astounding  and  inexplicable 
psychological  fact  ought  to  rank  with  Sir  Isaac 
Newton.  Talk  of  what  can  be  got  out  of  coal-tar 
or  waste-paper !  Why,  you  take  your  boy,  your 
troglodyte,  your  Arab,  your  gamin,  on  this  princi- 
ple, and  there  is  no  limit  to  what  you  can  extract 
from  him  or  do  with  him.  Look  at  this  quondam 
class,  which  is  to-night  a  Company.  As  class  it 
was  confusion,  depression,  demoralisation,  chaos. 
As  Company,  it  is  respect,  self-respect,  enthusi- 
asm, happiness,  peace.  The  beauty  of  the  change 


BOYS  AND  THE  BOYS'  BRIGADE  489 

is  that  it  is  spontaneous,  secured  without  heart- 
burn, maintained  without  compulsion.  The  Boy's 
own  nature  rises  to  it  with  a  bound ;  and  the  live- 
lier the  specimen,  the  greater  its  hold  upon  him.' 

He  then  gives  the  history  of  the  movement  and  the 
details  of  organisation.  After  stating  that  the  Brigade 
takes  boys  between  twelve  and  seventeen,  being  '  de- 
signed to  operate  on  a  Boy  only  during  a  specific  part 
of  his  development,'  and  then  hand  him  over  to  the 
Y.M.C.A.,  or  Church  Guilds,  or  the  like,  he  con- 
tinues :  — 

'  The  Brigade,  in  fact,  is  meant  to  supply  the  miss- 
ing link  between  these  institutions  and  the  ordi- 
nary Sunday-school.  As  soon  as  a  Boy  becomes 
a  wage-earner,  and  breathes  the  free  air  of  street 
or  workshop,  the  Sunday-school  ceases  to  hold 
him,  and  without  something  to  bridge  the  interval 
between  school  life  and  the  educative  and  reli- 
gious associations  for  young  men,  he  would  either 
be  lost  or  spoiled  before  these  could  throw  their 
meshes  round  him.  It  is  in  this  respect  more 
perhaps  than  in  any  other  that  the  Boys'  Brigade 
is  to  be  welcomed  to  a  place  among  the  staple 
institutions  of  the  country.  If  those  higher  insti- 
tutions are  not  large  enough  or  elastic  enough  or 
attractive  enough  to  receive  and  hold  the  veterans 
who  pass  out  of  the  ranks  of  the  Boys'  Brigade, 
they  must  either  do  better  or  give  place  to  some 
organisation  which  will.' 

.  Then  follows  an  emphasis  on  the  fact  that  every 
Company  must  be  connected  with  a  '  Church,  Mission, 
or  other  Christian  organisation.' 


49O  HENRY  DRUMMOND 

4  For  it  cannot  be  too  emphatically  said  that  the 
Boys'  Brigade  is  a  religious  movement.  Every- 
thing is  subsidiary  to  this  idea.  It  may  not 
always  be  brandished  before  the  eyes  of  the  Boys 
themselves  in  so  many  words,  and  it  would  not  be 
wholly  true  to  the  type  of  boy-religion  to  over- 
advertise  it,  but  at  bottom  the  Boys'  Brigade 
exists  for  this,  and  it  is  never  afraid  to  confess  it. 
On  the  forefront  of  its  earliest  documents  stand 
these  words :  "  The  Object  of  the  Boys'  Brigade 
is  the  advancement  of  Christ's  Kingdom  among 
Boys,  and  the  promotion  of  habits  of  reverence, 
discipline,  self-respect,  and  all  that  tends  towards 
a  true  Christian  manliness."  That  flag  has  never 
been  taken  down.  "A  true  Christian  manliness" 
—  that  is  its  motto ;  and  the  emphasis  upon  the 
manly  rather  than  upon  the  mawkish  presentation 
of  Christianity  has  been  its  stronghold  from  the 
first. 

1  Contrary  to  a  somewhat  natural  impression,  the 
Boys'  Brigade  does  not  teach  the  "Art  of  War," 
nor  does  it  foster  or  encourage  the  war-spirit.  It 
simply  employs  military  organisation,  drill,  and 
discipline,  as  the  most  stimulating  and  interesting 
means  of  securing  the  attention  of  a  volatile  class 
and  of  promoting  self-respect,  chivalry,  courtesy, 
esprit  de  corps,  and  a  host  of  kindred  virtues.  To 
these  more  personal  results  the  military  organi- 
sation is  but  an  aid,  and  this  fact  is  continually 
kept  before  the  Officers  by  means  of  the  magazine 
which  is  issued  periodically  from  Headquarters,  as 
well  as  by  the  official  Constitution  of  the  organisa- 
tion. With  the  Officers,  saturated  as  they  are  with 
the  deeper  meaning  of  their  work,  feeling  as  they 
do  the  greatness  and  responsibility  of  their  com- 


BOYS  AND  THE  BOYS'   BRIGADE  49! 

mission,  it  is  an  idle  fear  that  any  should  so  far 
betray  his  trust  as  to  conceal  the  end  in  the  means. 
As  to  the  retort  that  the  end  can  never  justify  such 
means,  it  is  simply  to  be  said  that  the  "  means  " 
are  not  what  they  are  supposed.  To  teach  drill 
is  not  to  teach  the  "Art  of  War/'  nor  is  the  drill- 
spirit  a  war-spirit.  Firemen  are  drilled,  policemen 
are  drilled  ;  and  though  it  is  true  the  cap  and  belt 
of  the  Boys  are  the  regalia  of  another  order,  it 
may  be  doubted  whether  drill  is  any  more  to  them 
than  to  these  other  sons  of  peace.  That  the  war- 
spirit  exists  at  all  among  the  Boys  of  any  single 
Company  of  the  Brigade  would  certainly  be  news 
to  the  Officers,  and  if  it  did  arise  it  would  as  cer- 
tainly be  checked.  One  has  even  known  Volun- 
teers whose  souls  were  not  consumed  by  enmity, 
hatred,  and  revenge ;  and  it  is  whispered  that  there 
are  actually  privates  in  Her  Majesty's  Service  who 
do  not  breathe  out  blood  and  fire.  Besides  this, 
what  is  known  in  the  "  Army  Red  Book "  as 
Physical  Drill  is  more  and  more  coming  to  play 
a  leading  part  in  Brigade  work,  and  the  govern- 
ing body  may  be  trusted  to  reduce  the  merely 
military  machinery  to  the  lowest  possible  mini- 
mum 

*  The  true  aspiration  and  teaching  of  the  Brigade 
could  not  be  better  summarised  than  in  this  fur- 
ther quotation  from  its  official  literature :  — 

' "  Our  Boys  are  full  of  earnest  desire  to  be  brave,  true 
men;  and  if  we  want  to  make  them  brave,  true,  Christian 
men,  we  must  direct  this  desire  into  the  right  channel,  and 
show  them  that  in  the  service  of  Christ  they  will  find  the 
bravest,  truest  life  that  it  is  possible  for  a  man  to  live.  We 
laid  the  foundations  of  the  Boys'  Brigade  on  this  idea,  and 
determined  to  try  to  win  the  Boys  for  Christ,  by  presenting 


492  HENRY   DRUMMOND 

to  them  that  view  of  Christianity  to  which  we  knew  their 
natures  would  most  readily  respond,  being  fully  conscious 
how  much  more  there  was  to  show  them  after  they  had  been 
won." 

'  There  are  at  least  two  points  where  religious  teach- 
ing directly  comes  in.  The  first  is  the  Company 
Bible-class.  Every  Company  being  connected 
with  some  existing  Christian  organisation,  the 
Boys  are  urged  to  attend  whatever  Bible-class 
exists,  and  in  most  cases  they  do  so.  But  wher- 
ever no  existing  interest  is  interfered  with,  the 
Captains  usually  provide  a  class  of  their  own. 
These  special  Company  classes  now  number 
about  two  hundred,  with  an  average  attendance 
of  over  four  thousand  Boys ;  and  that  this  side 
of  the  work  is  receiving  special  impulse  is  plain 
from  the  fact  that  last  year  saw  the  birth  of  over 
fifty  new  classes.1 

1  In  addition  to  these  Sunday-classes,  nearly  every 
Company  reports  an  address  given  at  drill  on 
the  week-night,  with  more  or  less  regularity ;  and 
each  parade  is  opened  and  closed  with  prayer, 
or  with  a  short  religious  service.  Once  a  year 
also  it  is  becoming  an  increasing  custom  for  the 
Companies  in  populous  centres  to  have  a  united 
Church  parade,  where  they  attend  Divine  Ser- 
vice in  "  uniform,"  and  hear  a  special  sermon 
from  some  distinguished  preacher. 

'  But  though  this  is  the  foundation  of  the  Brigade, 
it  is  by  no  means  the  whole  superstructure.  The 
Brigade  has  almost  as  many  departments  of  activ- 
ity as  a  Boy  has  needs.  It  is  clear,  for  instance, 
that,  in  dealing  with  Boys,  supreme  importance 

1  The  report  for  1898  gives  473  Bible-classes,  with  an  average  attendance 
of  12,819  boys. 


BOYS   AND  THE   BOYS'   BRIGADE  493 

must  be  attached  to  maintaining  a  right  attitude 
towards  athletics.  And  here  the  Brigade  has 
taken  the  bull  by  the  horns,  and  formed  a  special 
department  to  deal  with  amusements  —  a  depart- 
ment whose  express  object  is  to  guide  and  elevate 
sport,  and,  by  unobtrusive  methods,  to  get  even 
recreation  to  pay  its  toll  to  the  disciplining  of 
character. 

'  One  or  more  clubs  for  football,  cricket,  gymnastics, 
or  swimming  have  been  formed  in  connection 
with  almost  every  Company,  and  the  honour  of 
the  Brigade,  both  physical  and  moral,  is  held  up 
as  an  inspiration  to  the  Boys  in  all  they  do.  The 
Captains  are  not  so  much  above  the  Boys  in  years 
as  to  have  lost  either  their  love  or  knowledge  of 
sports,  and  a  frequent  sight  now  on  a  Saturday 
afternoon  is  to  witness  a  football  match  between 
rival  Companies,  with  the  Lieutenant  or  Captain 
officiating  as  umpire.  At  practice  during  the 
week  also  he  will  act  as  coach,  and  the  effect  of 
this  both  upon  the  sports  themselves  and  on  his 
personal  influence  with  the  Boys,  is  obvious. 
The  wise  Officer,  the  humane  and  sensible  Offi- 
cer, in  short,  makes  as  much  use  of  play  for  higher 
purposes  as  of  the  parades,  and  possibly  more. 
The  key  to  a  Boy's  life  in  the  present  generation 
lies  in  athletics.  Sport  commands  his  whole 
leisure,  and  governs  his  thoughts  and  ambitions 
even  in  working  hours.  And  so  striking  has 
been  this  development  in  recent  years,  and  espe- 
cially among  the  young  men  of  the  larger  towns, 
that  the  time  has  come  to  decide  whether  ath- 
letics are  to  become  a  curse  to  the  country  or  a 
blessing.  That  issue  is  now,  and  in  an  almost 
acute  form,  directly  before  society.  And  the 


494  HENRY   DRUMMOND 

decision,  so  far  as  some  of  us  can  see,  depends 
mainly  upon  such  work  as  the  Boys'  Brigade  is 
doing  through  its  athletic  department.  Were  it 
for  this  alone  —  the  elevation  of  athletics,  the 
making  moral  of  what,  in  the  eyes  of  those  who 
really  know,  is  fast  becoming  a  most  immoral 
and  degrading  institution  —  the  existence  of  the 
Boys'  Brigade  is  justified  a  hundred  times.' 

The  article  then  describes  the  Summer  Camps  and 
other  organisations  for  working-lads'  holidays  —  which 
when  Drummond  wrote  (in  1892)  had  not  reached  a 
tithe  of  the  development  to  which,  with  vast  benefit 
to  the  health  and  morale  of  the  boys,  they  have  now 
attained  —  the  ambulance  classes,  musical  bands,  and 
reading-rooms  —  and  it  closes  with  these  remarks  on 
the  Officers:  — 

'  Behind  all  lies  the  supreme  moulding  force  —  the 
personal  influence,  example,  and  instruction  of 
the  Officers  —  manifesting  itself  in  directions  and 
in  ways  innumerable  and  varied,  and  in  results 
which  can  never  be  tabulated.  There  is  no  limit 
to  what  a  good  Officer  can  do  for  his  Boys.  He 
is  not  only  their  guide,  philosopher,  and  friend, 
but  their  brother.  In  distress,  in  sickness,  they 
can  count  upon  him.  If  they  are  out  of  work,  or 
wish  to  better  themselves  in  life,  they  know  at 
least  one  man  in  the  world  to  whom  their  future 
career  is  a  living  interest.  In  short,  throughout 
life  they  have  some  one  to  lean  upon,  to  be  ac- 
countable to,  to  live  up  to.  He,  on  his  part,  has 
something  to  live  for.  He  is  the  Pastor  of  Boys ; 
and,  if  he  is  the  right  man,  of  their  homes.  Great 
and  splendid  is  this  conception  —  that  every  Boy 


BOYS  AND  THE  BOYS'  BRIGADE          495 

should  have  a  brother,  that  every  home  a  friend ; 
not  missionary,  not  ministering  spirit,  not  even 
woman,  but  man,  a  young  man,  himself  in  the 
thick  of  the  fight  and  helping  others,  not  because 
he  is  above  them,  but  because  the  same  powder- 
smoke  envelops  both. 

*  Many  of  the  prime  movers  in  this  new  cause  are 
men  who  have  been  almost  strangers  to  such 
work  before.  But  they  saw  here  something  defi- 
nite, practical,  human;  something  that  they  could 
begin  upon  without  committing  themselves  to 
positions  which  they  had  not  quite  thought  out ; 
something  which  could  utilise  the  manlier  ele- 
ments in  them,  and  give  them  a  useful  life-in- 
terest outside  themselves.  Thus  through  the 
instrumentality  of  the  Brigade  not  only  have 
multitudes  of  Boys  in  town  and  country  been 
brought  under  a  regime,  morally  and  physically 
educative,  but  numbers  of  influential  young  men, 
including  a  great  many  Volunteers,  have  found 
themselves  for  the  first  time  enlisted  in  the  cause 
of  social  and  religious  progress.  For  a  real  field 
of  honest  usefulness,  a  field  where  the  tools  re- 
quired are  simply  the  stronger  and  better  ele- 
ments in  Christian  manhood,  there  is  probably 
nothing  open  just  now  to  laymen  which  has  in  it 
anything  like  the  same  substance  and  promise  as 
this.' 


CHAPTER   XIX 

THE  END 

THE  first  touches  of  the  disease  which  ultimately 
killed  him,  were  felt  by  Drummond  in  the  spring 
of  1894 — on  the  back  of  a  winter  of  hard  work. 
Our  club  meeting,  the  last  which  he  attended,  was 
held  in  the  beginning  of  May  at  St.  Mary's  Loch, 
and  we  noticed  that  of  an  evening  he  would  sit  in  the 
warm  sitting-room  with  his  topcoat  on.  He  had  an 
easy  summer,  and  spent  several  weeks  fishing  on 
Loch  Stack,  on  the  River  Beauly,  and  elsewhere.  But 
I  am  told  he  was  sometimes  so  stiff  that  he  could 
hardly  cast  a  line.  When  he  returned  to  college  in 
November,  his  face  looked  worn,  and  he  would  shield 
himself  from  cold  in  a  way  we  had  never  seen  him  do 
before.  In  December  he  had  some  sharp  attacks  of 
sickness,  but  he  held  to  his  college  work  without  com- 
plaint, spoke  in  November  at  a  meeting  of  the  Glas- 
gow University  Settlement,  presided  in  December 
over  the  gathering  of  the  West  of  Scotland  Ramblers' 
Alliance,  of  which  he  was  President,  and  even  arranged, 
with  some  trouble  to  himself,  for  the  opening  of  a  new 
line  of  work,  to  which  for  many  years  he  had  been 
looking  forward. 

This  was  the  establishment  of  a  '  Pleasant  Sunday 
Afternoon,'  for  the  men  of  that  district  of  Glasgow 
known  as  Port  Dundas,  round  the  terminus  of  the 
Edinburgh  and  Glasgow  Canal.  Some  citizens  of 
Glasgow  had  founded  here  the  Canal  Boatmen's  Insti- 

496 


Mf.  43]  THE   END  497 

tute,1  in  a  fine  building  with  a  hall,  library,  and  club- 
rooms.  In  the  early  part  of  January  the  missionary, 
Mr.  Gilbert,  distributed  a  large  number  of  circulars 
calling  the  men  of  the  district  to  a  preliminary  meeting 
on  Sunday,  January  2Oth,  at  which  Professor  Drum- 
mond  and  Bailie  Bilsland  were  to  be  present;  and  it 
was  intimated  that  they  were  prepared,  if  the  move- 
ment went  on,  to  give  short  addresses  on  subsequent 
Sunday  afternoons.  The  meeting  was  full  and  hearty. 
A  large  number  of  members  was  enrolled,  and  the 
services  were  continued.  Drummond  had  at  first  an 
exaggerated  idea  of  the  dislike  of  the  men  for  whom 
the  meetings  were  planned  to  the  forms  of  religion, 
and  he  intended  that  there  should  be  almost  no 
prayers.  This  idea,  however,  was  abandoned,  and  a 
small  service  was  printed ;  good  music  was  provided, 
and  besides  pieces  from  visitors,  two  or  three  hymns 
were  sung  by  the  whole  gathering.  Drummond  grew 
too  ill  to  take  his  promised  share  of  the  work,  but  till 
the  last  his  heart  was  in  it.  I  do  not  think  he  suffi- 
ciently realised  the  danger,  which  the  P.S.A.  move- 
ment involves,  of  leading  its  members  away  from  the 
family  aspects  of  religion ;  yet  it  is  certain  that,  as  in 
other  places,  so  here,  the  meetings  attracted  a  large 
number  of  men,  who  would  otherwise  not  have  attended 
a  religious  service,  and  in  his  helplessness  during  the 
next  two  years  he  was  cheered  by  news  of  the  progress 
and  the  undoubted  benefits  of  the  work. 

He  intended  to  go  to  Edinburgh  as  usual  for  some 
of  the  student  meetings  in  February  and  March.  But 
at  last  he  had  to  write  as  follows :  — 

1  In  connection  with  the  Canal  Boatmen's  Friend  Society  of  Scotland.  Presi- 
dent, Leonard  Gow,  Esq. ;  Vice-Presidents,  Major  Allan  and  Bailie  Bilsland. 

2K 


HENRY   DRUMMOND  [tgps 

To  Professor  Simpson 

<3,  PARK.  CIRCUS,  GLASGOW,  Feb.  5,  1895. 

*  MY  DEAR  DR.  SIMPSON,  —  I  am  very  loath  to  write 

this  letter,  and  have  put  off  doing  so  from  week 
to  week,  in  the  strong  hope  that  it  would  not  be 
necessary.  But  I  see  now  the  inevitable  must  be 
faced,  and  I  wish  to  say  that  I  must  abandon  the 
idea  of  coming  to  the  Oddfellows'  Hall  this  winter. 
I  have  had  a  second  breakdown  in  health  since 
Christmas ;  and  though  not  at  the  moment 
actually  ill  or  unfit  for  daily  duty,  I  feel  it  would 
be  wrong  to  attempt  Edinburgh  in  my  present 
condition. 

*  What  you  and  the  "  Committee  "  will  do  in  the 

circumstances  I  do  not  know,  nor  dare  I  suggest ; 
but  I  know  how  well  my  place  will  be  filled  by 
others.  Those  who  have  come  to  our  platform 
all  these  years  have  each  their  message,  and  one 
which  will  be  fresher  and  weightier  to  the  stu- 
dents than  mine.  I  should  stand  aside  with  a 
very  much  lighter  heart  than  I  now  do  if  I 
thought  they  would  fill  the  breach.  ...  I  shall 
add  nothing  as  to  the  disappointment  all  this 
means  to  me.' 

It  was  grievous  to  watch  him  during  these  days  at 
the  work  to  which  he  clung  in  spite  of  all  his  pain  and 
our  remonstrances.  When  he  came  to  his  daily  lecture 
the  straight,  lithe  figure  that  used  to  bring  brightness 
into  our  sombre  college,  crossed  the  vestibule  bent 
and  stiff.  We  found  he  was  not  sleeping  at  night, 
and  his  face  grew  pinched.  So  he  struggled  on 
till  just  a  few  days  before  the  end  of  the  session, 
when  his  doctors  peremptorily  forbade  more  lectures. 
He  stayed  in  Glasgow  a  week  or  two,  dissipating  our 


JET.  43-44]  THE   END  499 

fears  —  all  the  more  gloomy  that  fear  for  him  was  so 
unusual  —  by  his  brightness  between  the  attacks  of 
heavy  sickness.  Then  for  change  of  air  and  relief 
from  the  constant  siege  of  interests  which  his  house 
endured  while  he  was  in  it,  he  left  Glasgow  —  left  it 
for  the  last  time.  His  work  was  done. 

His  work  was  done,  yet  one  of  the  great  services  of 
his  life  remained  to  be  rendered.  Looking  back  upon 
the  two  years  of  weakness  which  ensued,  we  can  clearly 
see  that  as  it  had  been  given  to  him  to  prove  how 
fame,  prosperity,  and  wealth  of  brilliant  gifts  may  be 
borne  with  unselfishness,  so  now  he  was  strengthened 
to  show  us  how  to  suffer  pain  uncomplaining,  endure 
long  illness,  thinking  more  of  others  than  of  himself, 
and  at  last  face  death,  not  only  without  fear,  but  with- 
out even  a  strained  or  hectic  consciousness  of  his 
fate.  His  disease,  though  this  was  not  known  till 
afterwards,  was  produced  by  a  malignant  growth  of 
the  bones,  that  caused  him  intense  agony.  As  the 
months  passed,  and  his  hair  whitened  with  the  pain, 
it  deprived  him  of  all  power  to  move,  and  made  him 
so  brittle  that  he  could  not  endure  even  the  grasp  of  a 
friend's  hand.  Except  for  some  moments  of  wander- 
ing—  and  these  only  during  the  last  weeks — his  mind 
was  unclouded.  He  retained  unabated  the  vigour, 
and  even  the  brilliance,  of  his  intellect.  He  took  an 
eager  interest  in  politics  and  in  literature,  remembered 
in  an  astonishing  way  what  absent  friends  were  doing, 
surprised  them  with  telegrams  of  congratulation  or 
sympathy,  planned  the  entertainment  of  those  who 
came  to  see  him,  and  used  to  pose  them  with  puzzles 
and  problems  which  he  invented  as  he  lay.  The  only 
game  he  could  play  was  chess,  and  he  often  won  a 
hard  match.  His  sense  of  humour  never  left  him, 
and  his  room  became  a  kind  of  '  pool '  for  new  stories 


5OO  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1895-97 

which  were  brought  him  by  his  friends,  and  passed  on 
by  him  to  others.  He  greeted  you  in  his  old  way  with 
a  flash  of  welcome,  had  a  score  of  questions  to  ask 
about  your  work,  chaffed  you,  and  chaffed  himself, 
too,  in  droll  descriptions  of  his  helpless  state.  His 
weakness  reaped  the  harvest  of  the  love  he  had  so 
richly  sown  in  the  years  of  his  strength.  No  man  had 
such  friends  or  more  devoted  physicians.  Some  of 
the  former,  and  his  brother,  were  always  within  hail 
of  him;  the  latter  gave  weeks  out  of  their  busy  lives 
to  watch  beside  his  bed.  And  so  he  sank  slowly  down 
a  long  slope  to  the  last  edge,  racked  with  pain,  and 
unable  to  move,  but  in  clearness  and  peace  of  mind, 
with  faith  and  love  and  humour  undiminished,  and 
with  his  friends  about  him  to  the  last. 

The  stages  of  the  journey  were  these.  He  was 
taken  from  Glasgow  to  Edinburgh  in  the  end  of 
March,  1895.  In  April  he  travelled  to  the  south  of 
France  for  sunshine  and  the  hot  baths  of  Dax.  In 
May  he  removed  to  Biarritz.  When  these  changes 
failed  to  ease  him,  he  was  brought  back  to  London 
in  July  for  further  medical  advice.  From  London  he 
was  taken  to  Tunbridge  Wells,  where  he  lay  under 
the  care  of  an  old  friend,  Dr.  Claude  Wilson,  his  Scot- 
tish doctors  visiting  him  from  time  to  time.  There 
was  always  some  talk  of  taking  him  south  again,  but 
he  was  never  fit  for  the  long  journey,  and  at  Tun- 
bridge  Wells  he  remained  from  September,  1895,  till 
the  end,  in  March,  1897.  At  first  he  was  able  to  go 
about  in  a  bath  chair,  and  even  to  walk  a  few  steps  in 
the  open  air.  But  as  winter  came  on  he  moved  only 
between  his  bed  and  the  dining-room.  Soon  he 
ceased  to  sit  up,  and  his  couch  was  wheeled  from  the 
one  room  to  the  other.  Sometimes  he  was  unable 
even  for  this. 


yET.  43-45]  THE  END  5OI 

I  have  tried  to  put  together  some  of  the  relics  of 
those  days  —  the  wise  and  humorous  words  with  which 
he  charmed  us  to  the  last ;  his  kind  judgments  of  the 
men  who  were  prosecuting  him  before  the  courts  of  his 
Church ;  his  pencilled  letters  about  the  lands  which 
some  of  his  friends  were  visiting;  his  amusing  tele- 
grams ;  the  fresh  stories  he  told ;  his  jokes  and  his 
puzzles ;  his  sane  criticism  of  books  and  men  ;  his  help- 
ful counsels  —  but  they  won't  come  into  print.  He 
spoke  often  of  the  '  stupidity  of  being  ill,'  and  twice  or 
thrice  he  said :  '  Ah,  you  can't  think  how  horrid  I  feel. 
I  have  been  giving  all  my  life,  and  now  it  seems  to  me 
positively  indecent  to  be  only  getting.  Well,  perhaps 
there's  a  lesson  in  that  too.'  Every  good  work  of 
which  he  heard  still  roused  his  interest,  and  sometimes 
he  longed  to  be  up  again  for  his  share  of  it.  '  I  would 
like  to  give  a  shove  in  there,  if  only  with  a  catapult.' 
Nor  would  he  cease  to  plan  what  fishing  he  would 
take  for  the  next  season.  He  did  not  speak  of  religion 
more  than  he  had  done  in  the  days  of  his  strength ; 
yet  you  felt  it  was  there,  as  natural  and  unforced  in 
the  face  of  death  as  it  had  been  in  the  fulness  of  life. 
Sometimes  he  asked  us  to  pray  and  to  read  the  New 
Testament.  '  That  is  the  book  one  always  comes  back 
to.'  And  sometimes  he  asked  for  music :  '  Oh,  any- 
thing you  like  —  a  hymn  for  preference,  or  a  Scotch 
song ; '  and  once  he  named  '  The  Land  o'  the  Leal ' 
and  '  Crossing  the  Bar.' 

He  was  not  without  hopes  of  recovery,  but  it  was 
always  difficult  to  know  whether  he  really  felt  these, 
or  uttered  them  for  our  sakes.  Yet  from  August,  1896, 
his  general  health  improved  considerably;  he  put  on 
flesh.  Towards  the  end  of  the  year  his  pains  abated, 
and  when  his  mother  paid  him  at  that  time  one  of 
her  frequent  visits,  she  could  leave  him  without  ap- 


5O2  HENRY  DRUMMOND  [1897 

prehension.  To  a  friend  who  was  leaving  after  a  visit 
at  Christmas  he  said,  '  You  may  see  little  difference 
upon  me  in  a  week,  but  in  three  months  I  shall  be 
another  man.'  This  was  not  to  be  in  the  sense  in 
which  he  uttered  it.  The  cessation  of  pain  was  due  to 
the  progress  of  the  disease,  and  only  showed  how  nearly 
this  had  finished  its  work.  The  constant  strain  was 
telling  upon  his  heart ;  and  we  now  know  that  when, 
on  New  Year's  Day,  he  spoke  so  brightly,  and  ex- 
changed telegrams  of  congratulation  with  his  col- 
league, Professor  Candlish,  who,  like  him,  had  been 
bedridden  for  months,  the  end  for  both  was  only 
a  matter  of  days.  Through  February  they  grew 
weaker,  and  when  Dr.  Candlish  passed  away  on  Sun- 
day, the  yth  of  March,  Drummond  lay  feeble  and 
languid.  In  the  afternoon  Dr.  Barbour  played  to  him 
the  music  of  the  hymn,  'Art  thou  weary,  art  thou  lan- 
guid ? '  and  other  hymn  tunes,  with  no  response.  Then 
he  tried  the  old  Scots  melody  of  '  Martyrdom,'  to  which 
Drummond  beat  time  with  his  hand,  and  joined  in  the 
words :  — 

'  I'm  not  ashamed  to  own  my  Lord, 

Or  to  defend  His  cause, 
Maintain  the  glory  of  His  cross, 

And  honour  all  His  laws.' 

When  the  hymn  was  done,  he  said,  '  There's  nothing 
to  beat  that,  Hugh.'  It  is  a  paraphrase  of  the  words 
of  Paul :  /  know  whom  I  have  believed,  and  am  per- 
suaded that  He  is  able  to  keep  that  which  I  have  com- 
mitted unto  Him,  against  that  day. 

On  Monday  he  rallied,  but  on  Tuesday  he  was 
weaker  again,  and  his  brother  James  and  Dr.  Green- 
field were  summoned.  His  mind  wandered  upon 
old  themes.  He  talked,  half-dreaming,  about  John's 
Gospel. 


&t.  43-45]  THE   END  503 

On  Thursday  morning  he  was  very  low.  He  mur- 
mured a  message  to  his  mother,  became  unconscious, 
and  passed  away  very  quietly  about  eleven  o'clock. 

The  news  came  to  us  in  Glasgow,  by  a  tragic  co- 
incidence, as  we  were  gathering  to  the  funeral  of  his 
colleague,  Professor  Candlish.  Upon  the  following 
Monday  we  went  to  Stirling  to  lay  his  body  beside  his 
father's,  on  the  Castle  Rock,  in  the  shadow  of  the  old 
Greyfriars'  Church.  This  was  not  the  only  mourning 
for  him.  On  that  day,  or  upon  one  of  the  Sundays  on 
either  side  of  it,  services  were  held  in  many  towns  of 
the  kingdom  ;  also  in  Princeton  University,  at  Ottawa, 
at  Adelaide,  at  Singapore,  and  I  know  not  where  else. 
Telegrams,  public  and  private,  with  many  later  letters, 
proved  that  there  was  hardly  a  country  on  earth  in 
which  he  was  not  being  mourned.  Yet  at  Stirling  it 
seemed  as  if  all  were  represented.  The  day  was  a  wild 
one  of  sleet  and  rain,  the  steep  town  black  with  wet 
under  heavy  clouds,  the  surrounding  hills  white  with 
snow.  To  lay  him  to  rest  there,  upon  the  playground 
of  his  boyhood  wrapped  in  gloom,  there  gathered 
mourners  from  every  stage  of  the  life  that  thence  had 
started  on  its  brief  but  brilliant  way :  his  own  people, 
the  magistrates  of  the  town,  his  mates  at  school  and 
college,  his  fellow-workers  in  every  cause  for  which  he 
had  laboured ;  but  chiefly  a  crowd  of  young  men, 
students  in  Edinburgh  and  Glasgow,  yet  from  all  parts 
of  the  empire,  and  from  lands  beyond,  whose  fresh  faces 
shone  through  the  dark  church,  not  with  the  light  of 
memory  only,  but  with  the  bright  assurance  that  for 
at  least  another  generation  Henry  Drummond's  work 
on  earth  would  not  cease. 


APPENDIX    I 


ADDRESSES  TO  STUDENTS  OF  EDINBURGH  UNIVERSITY,  ODDFELLOWS' 
HALL,  JANUARY-MARCH,  1890 

THE  reports  from  which  these  have  been  transcribed  by  me  were 
taken  down,  with  Professor  Drummond's  permission,  by  Mr.  George 
Newman.1  I  have  abridged  or  summarised  them  where  they  re- 
peat any  part  of  his  published  works.  The  audiences  to  which  they 
were  given  were  of  students,  graduates,  and  professors  only.  They 
were  spoken  from  notes,  for  the  most  part  very  meagre  notes,  which 
I  have  collated,  so  far  as  they  are  extant,  with  Mr.  Newman's  re- 
ports. The  reader  will  keep  in  mind  that  these  are  mere  reports; 
and  that,  while  the  substance  of  the  addresses  is  given  in  them,  and 
also,  so  far  as  they  go,  Henry  Drummond's  very  words,  yet  they  are 
not  complete,  and  cannot  reflect,  except  in  a  broken  way,  the  ease, 
the  vividness,  and  the  grace  of  his  style.  G.  A.  S. 

I.  EVOLUTION  AND  RELIGION 
(January  26,  1890.    Chairman:  The  EARL  OF  ABERDEEN.) 

After  illustrating  Evolution  as  the  method  both  of  Nature  and 
History,  the  lecture  takes  up  those  aspects  of  it  which  concern  the 
Individual  — (i)  The  Evolution  of  the  Body,  (2)  The  Arrest  of  the 
Body,  the  Arrest  of  the  Animal,  amply  described  in  the  Ascent  of 
Man,  Chaps.  I. -III.  The  lecture  continues:  — 

'Henceforth  the  man  must  rule,  the  body  serve.  Marcus  Aurelius 
tells  us  that  the  body  is  to  be  considered  nowhere,  and  Paul  says, 
Reckon  ye  yourselves  dead.  This,,  gentlemen,  is  one  of  the  most 
radical  and  subtle  utterances  ever  spoken.  But  it  does  not  mean 
that  the  body  may  be  treated  in  any  way.  Nay !  Neglect  your 
body,  and  it  immediately  comes  from  "under  arrest"  and  cries 
aloud.  But  this  speaks  and  aims  straight  at  the  Temperance  of  the 

1  See  above,  p.  353. 
SOS 


506  APPENDIX 

Body,'  which  the  lecture  then  illustrates  in  a  homely  fashion  by  'the 
effects  of  a  "third  pipe,"  indolence,'  etc. 

He  continues :  — 

'Religion  is  not  negative;  it  consists  in  spending  life  and  time 
for  the  man,  i.e.  the  spirit — to  evolve.  Give  this  a  chance,  and  it 
will  evolve.  Hence,  crucify  the  flesh,  take  no  thought  for  the  mor- 
row, but  seek  first  the  kingdom  of  God  and  His  righteousness.  The 
moment  a  man  allows  his  body  to  rule  —  this  is  sin,  against  God  and 
against  Nature.  .  .  .  Men  say  as  justification  that  sin  is  natural, 
and  man  must  sin.  Aye,  aye,  gentlemen,  he  will  do  it  naturally  if 
the  body  is  supreme;  but  if  the  spirit  is  noble  and  ruling,  sin  is  not 
only  not  natural,  but  repugnant.  One  night  some  years  ago  in  a 
University  town  there  was  a  meeting  of  the  White  Cross  Society. 
The  meeting  was  over,  one  of  the  members  had  argued  that  sin  was 
not  natural,  and  at  the  close  one  of  the  medical  professors,  gather- 
ing a  group  of  students  around  him,  said,  "That's  gammon!  The 
sin  you  have  heard  of  to-night  is  natural,"  and  the  students  to  a  man 
hissed  him  out  of  the  room.  It  was  not  in  Edinburgh.  What  I  say 
is  this.  I  answer  you,  and  I  answer  the  world.  It  is  not  natural  to 
be  inverted,  not  natural  for  the  man  to  be  dead  and  the  body  to  rule. 

'"Sin  is  the  subordination  of  the  higher  nature  to  the  lower" 
(Martineau).  It  is,  as  I  say,  the  subordination  of  the  man  to  the 
beast.  But,  remember,  the  Body  is  the  Temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
and  a  violation  of  this  Temple  will  be  punished  by  certain  death  — 
nothing  else,  simply  and  purely  death.  Cell  by  cell,  molecule  by 
molecule,  the  magnificent  fabric  will  tumble  to  pieces.  The  rule 
of  the  Body  over  the  man  is  death.  You  (say,  for  example)  are 
allowing  your  body  to  rule;  project  your  life  imaginatively  a  decade, 
and  I  say,  tremble  as  you  think.  Death  here,  now  and  forever. 
Religion  gammon?  Gammon,  when  it  tells  you  that  the  Body  shall 
grovel  to  the  man?  I  tell  you,  this  is  by  far  the  grandest  thing  in 
the  wide  world.  .  .  . 

'  Temptation  is  music  to  all  ears.  What  is  it  that  makes  this  vast 
throng  of  men  feel  to-night  like  brothers?  Temptation.  You  know 
the  man  sitting  next  you  is  tempted  like  as  you  are.  We  are  all 
tempted,  and  we  thus  grow.  The  man  grows  as  "  the  man  "  wins. 
It  is  the  brotherhood  of  temptation,  a  new  and  real  tenderness, 
which  binds  man  to  man,  not  body  to  body. 

'Why  is  it  that  student  life  is  critical?  Because  the  body  has 
grown  through  all  these  ages,  and  we  are  thus  full-grown  "men- 
bodies,"  so  to  speak,  whereas  that  man  in  us,  that  good  spirit  in  us, 
is  but  a  child,  at  the  very  most  perhaps  a  score  of  years  old.  Train 


ADDRESSES  TO  STUDENTS  507 

that  boy  to  beat  down  the  "man,"  the  young  spirit  to  beat  down  the 
old  body.  How?  By  a  Power  not  his  own,  a  Power  which  is 
greater  than  the  power  of  evil. 

'Religion,  etymologically,  is  that  which  binds  —  binds  a  man  to 
something  higher,  nobler,  and  better  than  himself,  and  binds  man 
to  man.  All  the  accessories  of  Religion  are  merely  auxiliaries. 
Prayer  and  church  and  reading  your  Bible  are  not  Religion  itself; 
they  are  auxiliaries.  They  help  to  bind  you  to  a  Perfect  Man,  and 
that  Man  is  Jesus  Christ,  from  whom  can  issue  power  to  beat  the 
Body.  You  must  be  associated  with  something  stronger  and  higher, 
as  the  pure  love  of  a  sister  or  a  faithful  companion.  You  must  be 
bound  to  Jesus  Christ,  and  this  will  help  you  to  withstand,  and 
having  done  all  to  stand,  that  is,  to  rule. 

'  Without  Me  ye  can  do  nothing.  That  is,  without  something 
higher  and  nobler  than  yourself  you  will  do  nothing  good.  You 
must  have  an  aim  to  evolve  yourself  to.  This  is  an  imperceptible 
and  a  natural  thing.  You  do  not  think  about  breathing.  It  is 
natural.  Your  mother  has  thrown  a  sacredness  over  your  life.  Her 
name  brings  to  you  purity  and  love  in  their  highest  forms;  you  are 
bound  to  something  higher,  and  through  her  you  are  bound  to  Christ. 
Thus  naturally  you  are  evolved  into  the  Perfect  Man.  You  reflect 
Him  everywhere ;  in  other  words,  gentlemen,  you  are  growing  like 
Him.  A  man  at  college  who  reflects  Christ  is  a  man  who  is  bound 
to  Christ,  and  thus  the  "man"  in  him  rules  his  life.  You  must 
bind  yourselves  to  Christ  to  get  it  at  first  hand;  you  must  become 
acquainted  with  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  your  best  Friend. 

'Gentlemen,  my  object  has  been  to  bring  into  relief  the  great 
line  running  across  Nature.  On  which  side  will  you  live?  I  call 
for  decision.  No  man  can  serve  two  masters.  Religion  is  what 
meets  you  on  the  upper  side  of  the  line,  and  carries  you  upward  to 
live  the  life  of  the  Spirit.  Henceforth  there  is  a  dividing  line  in 
your  lives  between  dead  (the  body)  and  living  (the  man) ;  between 
temporal  and  eternal;  between  bad  and  good.  I  have  one  word  to 
utter  to  you  —  Choose. 

'  Gentlemen,  choose !  If  you  choose  life  and  good,  you  choose 
"the  man  ";  something  which  can  evolve  and  go  on  from  better  to 
better,  even  to  the  Image  of  the  Perfect  Man,  backed  up  as  you  will 
be  by  evolution  and  nature.  Grace  and  strength  come  from  the 
Power  to  which  you  bind  yourself.  Remember,  you  cannot  live  on 
meetings.  This  impetus  will  only  last  a  day  or  two.  Go  home  to 
your  knees  and  your  Bible.  Lay  hold  of  Christ.  You  are  a  child  in 
Christ  to-night;  wait  and  trust  Him,  and  you  will  evolve  —  if  once 


508  APPENDIX 

you  are  in  connection  with  Christ.  Reckon  ye  yourselves  dead — 
seek  first  the  kingdom  of  God  and  His  righteousness,  and  all  things 
shall  be  added. 

'  May  God  bless  the  men  of  this  University,  and  evolve  in  His 
grace  and  power  "perfect  men,"  noble  and  upright  and  pure,  that 
they  may  go  forth  in  their  lives  to  bless  and  to  heal,  to  purify  and 
to  sanctify  the  world. ' 


II.  EVOLUTION  AND  CHRISTIANITY 

(February  2.      Chairman:   Sir  WILLIAM  MUIR,  K.C.S.I.,  D.C.L.,  Principal  and 
Vice-Chancellor  of  the  University.) 

Professor  Drummond  began  by  speaking  of  Love  upon  the  same 
lines  as  he  has  expounded  it  in  The  Ascent  of  Man:  — 

'  Love  is  the  greatest  evolutionary  force  the  world  has  ever  seen. 
All  opposing  forces  fall  at  the  sight  of  it.  The  animal  power  in 
life  yields  to  it.  The  power  of  war  is  broken  by  that  which  formed 
the  power  of  war  at  the  first.  .  .  .  This  has  been  a  long  story,  but 
its  application,  I  trust,  will  not  be  so  long.  Last  Sunday  it  was 
Evolution  and  Religion.  To-night  it  is  Evolution  and  Christianity. 

'For  what  is  this  great  ascent  of  power  rising  out  of  mere  grega- 
riousness  into  sympathy,  into  love,  into  sacrifice  —  what,  I  say,  is 
this,  if  not  the  dawn  of  Christianity  before  Christ  comes?  .  .  . 
Christianity  is  as  old  as  the  dawn  of  life  itself.  It  began  in  the 
nooks  and  crannies,  far  away  down  there  in  the  past,  built  in  to  the 
very  foundation  of  the  world.  .  .  . 

'A  man  came  to  my  house  last  week,  and  said  he  wanted  to  talk 
over  religion,  for  he  was  in  a  muddle.  I  asked  him  in,  and  we  set 
to.  He  was  not  a  Christian,  he  said.  He  found  Kings  very  diffi- 
cult to  understand.  He  knew  a  man  who  called  himself  a  Christian, 
and  did  not  seem  to  live  by  the  Bible  truth.  He  thought  the 
commas  in  the  Bible  uninspired,  for  he  could  not  make  things  tally. 
I  thought,  Is  it  possible  that  this  is  a  "man  "  before  me?  Has  all 
this  absurdity  anything  in  the  world  to  do  with  Religion?  Not  un- 
derstand Kings!  Nor  the  "six  days"  of  Genesis!  A  few  days 
before  I  had  been  thinking  about  this  most  glorious  scheme  of  Chris- 
tianity, and  here  before  me  stood  a  man  whose  whole  religion  I 
could  put  in  a  pill-box !  And  yet  I  say  to  you  that  there  are  men 
listening  to  my  voice  now  who  will  not  accept  Christ  because  they 
do  not  understand  the  Old  Testament  nor  see  how  Jonah  could  live 
in  a  fish's  belly.  —  Oh,  gentlemen,  look  for  one  moment  at  the 


ADDRESSES  TO   STUDENTS  5OQ 

magnificence  and  sublimity  of  Christianity  from  the  standpoint  of 
evolution.  Look  at  the  sublime  age  —  from  the  earliest  dawn  of 
life !  Look  at  the  size  —  illimitable !  Look  at  the  beauty !  Could 
anything  be  more  perfect  than  the  greatest  thing  in  the  world :  any 
force  so  irresistible  as  the  greatest  evolutionary  power,  Love !  I 
say,  stand  back  if  you  can.  A  man  with  the  faintest  touch  of  reason 
sees  something  before  which  everything  else  fades.  He  cannot 
help  reaching  forward  and  grasping  the  most  splendid  treasure  in 
the  universe. 

'All  this  fits  in  perfectly  with  Science.  ...  A  Christian  is  a 
man  who  furthers  the  evolution  of  the  world  according  to  the  pur- 
poses of  Jesus  Christ.  I  do  not  see  how  men  can  resist  religion  if 
they  have  the  most  elementary  views  of  evolution.  -  .  .  But  has 
everything  occurred  by  its  own  evolutionary  power?  I  answer 
definitely  and  distinctly,  No.  As  there  is  a  force  pushing  cell  to 
cell,  or  a  cell  onwards  alone  through  life,  so  precisely  in  the  course 
of  nations,  God  is  behind  all.  The  love  of  God  pushes  on  society, 
pouring  itself  into  the  hearts  of  men.  What  is  the  outcome  then 
to  you  sitting  before  me  to-night,  looking  forwards  to  your  lives  and 
professions?  It  is  this  in  a  word:  Choose  that  life  and  profession 
in  which  you  can  work  alongside  this  evolutionary  force  for  the  re- 
demption of  the  world.  Work  with  God ! 

'  Work  with  this  love  of  God.  An  iota  short  of  that  you  are  lost 
and  useless,  but  this  power  will  last  to  the  end,  till  all  else  has  passed 
away.  It  is  for  you  and  me  simply  to  choose.  Oh,  for  a  new  poet 
to  place  in  a  religious  poem  the  power  of  this  evolutionary  force ! 

'  Gentlemen,  it  is  nothing  sudden  or  capricious,  nothing  vague. 
It  has  come  now  in  perfect  order,  not  a  day  too  late,  and  it  could 
not  have  come  sooner.  By  the  revelation  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus  it 
is  yours;  and  how  does  it  affect  us  to-night?  This-wise,  that  if  you 
and  I  agree  now  to  cast  in  our  lives  with  His  scheme,  we  shall  be 
different  men  to-morrow  morning  from  what  we  are  to-day.  To- 
morrow in  this  University  there  will  be  a  new  evolutionary  force  of 
Brotherliness  to  stimulate  our  actions.  .  .  .  Every  word  you  utter, 
every  thought  you  think,  every  action  you  do,  will  be  said,  thought, 
and  done  by  Christ  Jesus  in  this  power  of  the  love  of  God.  .  .  . 

'There  was  a  medical  student  a  year  or  two  ago,  who  was  half  way 
through  his  course,  when  it  dawned  upon  him  that  he  had  lived  for 
himself,  and  he  decided  to  change  and  go  and  see  if  he  could  find 
any  one  to  help.  And  he  found  an  old  chum  who  had  gone  to  the 
dogs,  He  had  fallen  to  pieces,  given  up  his  work,  and  his  exams., 
and  was  living  aloof  from  other  students  and  drinking  hard. 


5  I O  APPENDIX 

No.  i  went  and  found  him  lying  on  the  floor  drunk.  He  paid  his 
debts  and  took  him  to  his  own  rooms,  gave  him  supper,  and  put 
him  to  bed.  On  the  next  day  he  had  a  talk  with  him.  He  pro- 
duced a  piece  of  paper,  and  they  made  a  contract  to  keep  them  both 
straight :  — 

'(i)  Neither  of  us  to  go  out  alone. 

'  (2)  Twenty  minutes  only  to  be  allowed  to  go  to  the  college 
and  return :   overtime  to  be  accounted  for. 

'(3)  One  hour  every  night  to  be  given  over  to  reading  other 
than  studies. 

'  (4)  That  byegones  be  byegones. 

'Both  men  put  their  names  to  this,  and  for  weeks  they  lived, 
No.  i  praying  and  doing  all  he  could  to  help  No.  2.  After  a  time 
No.  2  saw  that  the  odd  evening  hour  was  spent  by  No.  i  in  reading 
his  Bible.  No.  i  never  spoke  to  him  about  it;  he  simply  sat  and 
read.  Aye,  gentlemen,  I  tell  you  that  was  a  fine  sermon.  He 
never  spoke  about  Religion;  but  he  spoke  Religion.  He  was  teach- 
ing the  brotherhood  of  man  and  the  life  of  Christ.  Now  No.  2 
was  learning  unconsciously  to  know  God.  Why?  Because  God  is 
Love  —  No.  i  loved  him;  and  Christ  is  Sacrifice  —  No.  i  sacrificed 
his  life  for  him.  Not  a  word  was  said.  At  last  No.  2  changed. 
What  he  changed  to  I  need  not  say.  The  last  I  heard  of  them  was 
this.  No.  i  is  filling  an  appointment  of  great  importance  in  Lon- 
don. No.  2  passed  his  exams,  that  year  with  the  highest  University 
distinction,  and  is  now  in  private  practice. 

'Gentlemen,  you  have  that  opportunity  of  doing  good.  You  have 
asked  me  here  to-night.  I  have  come,  and  you  have  brought  on 
yourselves  this  responsibility.  I  lay  it  upon  you.  Gentlemen,  you 
are  not  doing  a  small  and  silly  thing  when  you  follow  Christ.  That 
man  was  a  Christian.  Take  up  the  cross  of  Christ  to-night  and 
follow  Him  this  week,  for  it  is  the  most  reasonable  and  natural 
thing  for  you  to  do.  Band  yourselves  together  as  consecrated  men 
in  the  Divine  struggle  of  the  world.  It  will  bring  you  happiness  of 
which  you  have  never  dreamt.  Arise  as  men  in  Christ  to-night,  and 
give  yourselves  altogether  to  this  supremest  duty ! ' 


ADDRESSES  TO  STUDENTS  51 1 


III.  SIN 

(February  9.    Chairman :  Professor  T.  GRAINGER  STEWART,  M.D.,  LL.D.,  etc., 
President  of  the  Royal  College  of  Physicians.) 

'For  two  evenings,  gentlemen,  I  have  tried  to  speak  to  your 
Reason 1  .  .  .  but  this  is  only  one  part  of  your  existence,  and  to- 
night I  want  to  open  the  Book  of  Human  Nature.  As  your  Princi- 
pal has  said,  the  great  thing  is  your  life:  we  do  not  want  your 
theories  and  your  knowledge,  but  your  life.  Religion  is  not  to  be 
proved,  but  to  be  lived,  and  every  man  among  us  to-night  is  trying 
the  experiment  of  how  best  to  conduct  his  life.  You  must  remem- 
ber that  this  life  of  yours  is  an  original  creation.  Each  life  is  a 
fresh  gift  from  God,  for  usefulness  or  uselessness.  How  can  I  use 
this  precious  gift  to  the  best  ends? 

'To-night  I  would  like  to  say  a  few  words  on  the  deepest  thing 
in  Human  Nature  —  that  which  is  called  in  theological  language  Sin. 
We  may  view  this  subject  in  three  different  aspects,  (i)  There  is 
the  guilt  of  Sin.  (2)  There  is  the  poiver  of  Sin.  (3)  There  is  the 
stain  of  Sin.  It  is  to  this  last  I  wish  you  to  look  —  to  the  conse- 
quences of  Sin  —  that  something  which  you  and  I  cannot  turn  our 
backs  upon  and  let  alone.  It  is  a  stain.  .  .  . 

'Sin  is  a  living  thing.  The  idea  which  I  had  as  a  child,  and 
which  probably  many  of  you  had  as  well,  was  that  our  sins  were  like 
bad  marks  put  opposite  our  names.  They  were  placed  against  us  in 
the  Book,  and  then  Some  One  would  come  and  wash  away  the  whole 
lot,  and  we  should  be  fit  for  the  Kingdom.  Our  page  would  be 
white  and  clean,  and  therefore  the  little  things  one  added  to  the  list 
mattered  little,  because  it  all  would  be  washed  away  and  made  clean. 

'There  is  no  more  disastrous  view  that  you  can  possibly  take. 

'Once  when  I  was  at  Sunday-school  I  heard  this  story:  In  the 
East  there  was  a  man  lying  in  his  prison  cell  for  murder.  A  friend 
came  to  see  him,  and  in  their  conversation  they  spoke  of  the  mur- 
der. I  should  have  said  that  between  the  cells  there  was  only  a 
curtain,  so  that  one  on  the  other  side  could  hear  all  that  was  being 
said.  Well,  the  man  told  his  friend  all  about  his  life,  and  then  came 
the  story  of  the  murder,  when,  in  the  middle  of  it,  he  suddenly 
pulled  up  startled,  and  stopped.  Why?  Because  he  heard  through 
the  curtain  the  scratch  of  a  pen.  So  he  remained  silent;  the  inter- 
view ended,  and  his  friend  went.  The  man  was  afraid  lest  his  words 
should  be  noted  against  him.  So  I  used  to  think  that  a  Recording 

1  Here  follows  a  summary  of  the  last  two  lectures. 


512  APPENDIX 

Angel  stood  by  me  and  noted  down  all  I  did  or  said.  This,  gentle- 
men, is  an  erroneous  view  to  take  of  Sin.  God  does  not  play  the 
detective  with  us.  That  would  make  men  dislike  God,  not  Sin,  and 
they  would  attempt  forthwith  to  forget  Him  and  live  without  Him. 
They  would  have  no  hatred  for  Sin.  Since  then  I  have  found  out  that 
there  is,  after  all,  a  Recording  Angel.  She  is  yourself,  and  her 
name  is  Nature.  And  her  pen  never  scratches,  and  you  never  hear  it. 
It  is  silent,  for  it  is  great.  Year  by  year,  moment  by  moment,  all  is 
taken  down,  but  in  complete  silence.  The  pen  never  ceases  to  write. 
It  works  in  the  body,  aye,  in  the  very  nerves  and  tissues  of  the  soul; 
and  all  you  have  ever  said  or  done,  or  left  undone,  is  registered 
forever  in  your  own  nature. 

'  Whatsoever  a  man  soweth  THAT  shall  he  reap.  Mind  you,  he 
shall  not  only  see  it  grow  and  see  it  ripen,  but  he  shall  reap.  And 
everything  you  sow  shall  grow,  and  you,  and  you  only,  shall  most 
certainly  reap.  Be  sure  your  sin  will  find  you  out.  It  won't  per- 
haps be  found  out.  But,  I  say,  it  will  find  you  out.  It  will  grow 
and  grow  and  eat  out  your  life.  It  will  run  you  to  earth  a  doomed 
man.  For  the  end  of  these  things  is  Death. 

'And  you  will  reap  in  many  directions.  You  may  not  know  the 
seed  or  the  ground  you  sow,  but  sow  and  you  will  reap.  You  will 
soon  know  what  harvest  when  you  reap.  Men  know  thistles  from 
oats.  You  sow  and  sow,  and  then  you  hope  God  will  forgive  and 
your  page  be  clean.  I  answer  you,  Nay.  Sow  thistles,  and  thistles 
will  come  up.  Sow  oats,  and  thistles  will  not  come  up,  oats  will 
come  up.  "Sow  thistles,"  you  say,  "and  then  sow  good  oats, 
and  thus  clear  the  thistles."  No,  the  harvest  will  be  thistles  and 
oats.  .  .  . 

'  Physiologists  tell  us  that  men  never  forget  —  that  the  memory  is 
independent  of  the  will,  and  that  our  memories  will  follow  us,  will 
live  to  the  end,  and  will  go  down  with  us  to  the  grave.1  .  .  . 

'  Students'  sins  are  special  sins.  Every  class  of  man  is  tempted 
in  its  own  special  way.  You  are  not  tempted  to  avarice,  stealing, 
murder.  No.  You  are  tempted  to  dishonesty;  and  though  it  is 
not  spoken  of  in  sermons,  it  is,  all  the  same,  as  big  a  sin  as  drunk- 
enness and  lust.  Nay,  more  so.  Why?  Because  it  is  a  sin  of  the 
higher  nature,  and  sins  of  the  higher  nature  are  blacker  than  sins  of 
the  lower  nature.  If  there  is  a  man  in  this  University  who  is  doing 
evil  things;  if  he  is  scamping  his  work,  he  will  reap.  ...  In  the 
church,  in  law,  in  commerce,  in  medicine,  scamp  your  work,  cheat 
your  examiners,  and  you  maim  your  lives.  I  say  the  consequences 

1  Here  follow  some  cases  of  cheating  at  examinations. 


ADDRESSES   TO   STUDENTS  513 

of  Sin  are  living  and  real,  and  a  man  has  not  done  with  them  at  the 
moment.  He  may  have  done  with  them,  but  they  have  not  done 
with  him.  He  will  reap  in  his  memory,  in  his  conscience.  Re- 
morse is  the  most  awful  thing  that  can  haunt  a  man's  life.  It  is,  in 
a  word,  a  stain. 

'And  the  stain  spreads  to  those  around  him.  .  .  . 

'The  whole  of  a  man's  nature  is  built  up,  I  might  say,  of  cells. 
One  after  another,  good  and  bad,  all  things  have  become  part  of 
him.  His  sins  have  made  sin  a  part  of  him.  That  unkind  thing 
you  say  or  do  makes  you  an  unkind  character.  That  selfish  thing  you 
do  makes  you  selfish,  pure  and  holy  and  noble  thoughts  are  turned 
out,  and  you  become  an  animal.  Paul  says,  Wretched  man  that  I 
am,  who  shall  deliver  me  from  this  dead  body  ?  Chained  as  they 
were  in  those  dark  dungeons  of  the  East,  if  one  prisoner  died  he 
was  left  chained  to  the  man  next  him.  .  .  .  This  dead  body  —  it 
was  Sin.  But,  gentlemen,  we  are  making  dead  bodies  with  our  own 
hands  and  lives :  cell  by  cell  we  become  dead.  Sin  is  a  part  of  one, 
and  the  end  of  these  things  is  death,  and  all  of  a  sudden  some 
morning  we  awake  and  say,  Wretched  man  that  I  am,  who  shall 
deliver  me  from  this  dead  body  ? 

'  Sin  finds  men  out  in  the  form  of  Temptation.  Temptation  is 
the  result  of  constantly  yielding.  A  constant  doing  passing  into  a 
habit  —  it  really  comes  to  be  a  predisposition  to  do  what  we  have 
done  before  over  again,  and  this  is  temptation.  We  have  built  up 
the  muscle-fibre  of  temptation  by  constantly  using  it.  Some  day 
Tennyson's  lines  will  be  true,  that  our  character  is  a  part  of  all  we 
have  met.  Look  at  the  brain.  It  is  made  up,  as  you  know,  of 
countless  cells  and  processes.  If  an  intellectual  process  runs 
through  our  brain  once,  it  leaves  comparatively  no  effect.  But  say 
it  over  a  hundred  times,  and  a  foot-path  is  worn  through  the  brain; 
the  hundred  and  first  time  will  be  easy.  Say  it  a  thousand  times, 
and  lo !  through  all  the  cellular  structure  of  the  brain  there  is  for- 
ever laid  a  thoroughfare  upon  this  one  intellectual  idea,  and  tempta- 
tions and  sins  march  to  and  fro  in  endless  procession  along  the 
beaten  track.  Men  do  not  commit  two  different  kinds  of  sin. 
You  have  your  own  favourite  sin,  and  I  have  mine,  and  as  it  grows 
the  trick  is  intensified,  the  path  more  beaten  still,  and  the  end 
is  Death.  One  thing  kills  a  man,  and  if  you  are  guilty  of  one 
sin,  your  doom  is  sealed.  Therefore  guard  against  making  a 
thoroughfare.  Decide  once  for  all  to  close  the  thoroughfare  by 
gates  which  shall  last  forever.  Let  that  evil  thought  never  pass 
that  way  again. 

2  L 


514  APPENDIX 

'  Some  say  and  will  tell  you  that  religion  has  the  power  to  take 
away  the  punishment  of  Sin.  I  think  not.  You  and  I  shall  bear 
the  punishment  of  the  sins  we  commit,  for  whatsoever  we  sow  we 
shall  reap.  But  what  is  taken  away  is  the  guilt.  The  guilt  of  Sin 
is  forever  swept  away  from  us  by  one  thing  only,  and  that  is  the 
death  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

'  If  you  are  drinking  hard,  don't  think  religion  will  give  you  a 
new  body.  No ;  you  must  go  back  and  undo  it.  Your  religion  will 
not  uproot  it  [the  old  body],  however  much  it  may  change  you. 
But  I  believe,  gentlemen,  that  if  a  man  goes  back,  the  grace  of  God 
will  overpower  and  minimise  his  sin,  but  it  must  be  paid  for.  In 
other  words,  you  shall  reap. 

'  Now,  what  am  I  to  say  to  the  man  who  wakes  up  to-night  from 
the  past  and  looks  back,  and  wants  now  to  change.  I  say  three 
things,  and  the  first  is  a  hard  saying. 

'  It  is  Restitution.  If  it  be  possible  to  go  back  along  the  trodden 
road,  find  the  place  where  you  fell,  and  undo  the  mischief.  .  .  . 
God  can  give  you  courage  to  go  through  fire  and  water  for  His  sake, 
and  He  will  do  it  now  and  here  for  any  man  who  hears  my  voice  in 
this  silence. 

'  I  knew  a  man  who  led  a  woman  astray.  He  was  fast  and  evil 
then,  but  a  year  or  two  after  he  was  changed,  and  became  what  he 
is  —  one  of  the  most  prominent  men  in  the  religious  world.  But 
through  all  his  success  and  apparent  blessings  there  was  the  stain 
and  the  shadow  of  that  woman's  life  upon  him.  Only  three  people 
ever  knew  about  it,  and  it  was  twenty  years  ago.  He  preached  all 
through  England  and  Scotland  and  Ireland  in  the  hope,  I  fervently 
believe,  that  that  woman  might  hear  him  and  be  saved.  Every 
prayer  he  prayed,  he  prayed  for  her.  Not  long  ago  I  was  in  Lon- 
don at  a  meeting  which  he  was  addressing,  and  after  the  meeting  a 
woman  walked  up  to  him  with  bent  head,  weeping.  I  saw  them 
alone  as  they  stood.  That  was  the  woman  he  had  searched  for  in 
the  restitution  of  twenty  years.  That  man's  sin  was  finding  him 
out,  and  God  will  help  and  stand  by  you  if  you  will  make  a  manly 
and  heroic  effort  to  turn  back  and  undo  the  past. 

'  The  second,  gentlemen,  is  Resolution.  Be  decided  for  Christ. 
Don't  just  come  here  and  go  away  again  and  forget.  Don't  let  it 
be  any  passing  emotion.  Go  away  home  across  the  Meadows  to  your 
rooms,  and  stand  alone  in  the  silence  of  the  night  before  God,  and 
decide,  and  be  prepared  to  pay  the  cost. 

'And  the  third  is  Religion.  It  is  cruelty  to  tell  a  man  to  give 
something  up  if  you  don't  give  him  something  in  its  place.  Nature 


ADDRESSES  TO   STUDENTS  515 

abhors  a  vacuum.  He  must  not  say,  "Yes;  I  will  arise  and  be  this, 
that,  or  the  other;  "  but  it  must  be,  I  will  arise  and  go  to  my  Father; 
and  in  that  Father's  presence,  love,  and  power,  he  will  find  a  new 
life,  a  new  love,  a  new  power  —  aye,  something  that  will  change 
him  and  restore  him  to  the  image  of  his  Maker.  Put  off  the  past, 
but  in  putting  off  the  old,  put  on  the  new.  Emerson  says  that  the 
great  crises  in  men's  lives  are  not  marriages,  deaths,  or  great  occa- 
sions, but  some  afternoon  at  the  turn  of  the  road  you  find  new 
thoughts  and  new  impulses  fill  your  breast.  You  are  ^«-verted  to 
something.  Your  life  is  changed,  and  you  henceforth  live  for  that 
new  and  higher  impulse.  As  you  sit  to-night  alone,  before  your 
Maker  and  your  God,  is  there  no  new  impulse  fills  your  heart? 
Something  which  sweeps  the  past  away?  Something  which  wins 
you;  something  which  is  the  perfection  of  loveliness;  something 
peaceful?  Do  not  fear  it,  but  listen,  and  in  the  stillness  there 
comes  the  voice  of  Jesus :  "  Come  unto  Me,  all  ye  that  labour  and 
are  heavy-laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest"  ' 

IV.  TEMPTATION 

(February  16.     Chairman :  Professor  CALDERWOOD,  LL.D.,  represented  by 
Dr.  C.  W.  CATHCART.) 

'Gentlemen,  I  must  ask  the  forbearance  of  the  men  here  to-night 
who  are  in  intellectual  difficulties  if  I  speak  to  the  men  who  are  in 
moral  degradation.  It  has  come  to  my  knowledge  through  the  week, 
from  a  bundle  of  letters  from  men  now  sitting  in  this  room,  that 
there  are  a  large  number  with  their  backs  to  the  wall.  They  are 
dead  beat,  and  I  shall  consider  their  cases  first. 

'I  want  to  say  a  few  words  on  the  subject  of  Temptation  from  an 
evolutionary  point  of  view,  and  I  shall  begin  by  planting  one  ray  of 
hope  in  the  heart  of  the  man  who  listens  to  my  voice  at  this  moment 
who  is  in  utter  despair,  for  this  is  the  most  brotherly  thing  I  can 
possibly  do  for  him.  He  says  his  best  resolutions  for  years  have 
been  broken,  and  his  prayers  apparently  unanswered,  so  that  all  his 
hope  for  the  future  is  gone  down  in  the  struggle  for  his  life. 

'It  was  said  once  that  the  Duke  of  Wellington  was  in  a  foreign 
country  trying  to  get  his  soldiers  to  a  place  of  safety,  and  between 
him  and  this  hoped-for  safety  there  was  a  deep  and  rapid  river, 
neither  bridge  nor  ford  could  be  seen,  and  it  was  a  hostile  country; 
he  sent  his  men  up  and  down  the  side  of  the  river  to  hunt  for 
a  bridge  or  ford,  but  they  found  none.  So  the  Duke  went  to  the 
top  of  a  hill  near  by  and  looked  through  his  telescope,  and  far  away 


5  1 6  APPENDIX 

down  the  river  side  he  saw  a  town,  and  on  the  other  side  of  the 
river  he  saw  a  straggling  village,  and  he  said,  "  Now,  between  that 
town  and  that  village  there  must  be  a  ford  or  a  bridge."  So  when 
night  came  he  sent  his  soldiers  in  the  darkness  and  silence  to  see, 
and  they  returned  and  said,  "Yes,  there  is  a  ford."  He  passed 
his  army  over  in  the  night,  and  the  next  day  they  were  found  in  the 
land  of  safety.  Gentlemen,  many  men  have  been  in  dangers  as 
great  and  greater  than  you,  and  have  found  a  ford.  So  I  say  to  that 
man  and  to  you  all  —  Don't  despair! 

'You  can  do  nothing  when  you  are  in  despair.  The  very  first 
thing  to  do  in  this,  as  in  everything  else,  is  to  believe  in  possibility. 
All  things,  you  remember,  are  possible  to  a  certain  class  of  men. 

'There  may  be  some  here  to-night  who  were  here  some  years  ago 
when  these  meetings  had  their  first  beginning,  and  you  may  remem- 
ber me  reading  a  letter  which  was  characterised  by  some  of  you  as 
"A  Letter  from  Hell."  You  remember,  it  was  a  frightful  revelation 
of  a  tortured,  sunken,  lost  human  soul.  It  was  anonymous,  and 
signed  "Thanatos."  *  Years  have  gone  by,  and  I  have  not  forgotten 
that  man;  and  if  ever  I  thought  a  man  was  hopelessly,  irretrievably 
lost,  it  was  that  man.  He  was  an  intellectual,  physical,  and  moral 
wreck.  I  thought  that  case  an  impossibility.  Gentlemen,  I  have 
in  my  pocket  to-night  a  letter  from  "Thanatos,"  which  he  sent  me 
this  week,  and  he  says  he  is  at  last  a  changed  man  —  a  new  creature 
in  Christ  Jesus.  He  says  the  new  life  has  choked  the  old,  and  that 
he  is  now  in  a  position  of  responsibility  and  usefulness  in  this 
country. ' 

The  address  then  proceeds  to  'view  the  whole  subject  of  Tempta- 
tion from  an  evolutionary  standpoint.'  'Temptation  is  this  man 
enticing  that  man,2  flesh  versus  spirit.  .  .  .  Temptation  is  not  sin, 
and  not  only  not  sin,  but  it  has  a  high  evolutionary  value.  Count 
it  all  joy  when  you  fall  into  divers  temptations.  It  is  an  opportunity 
for  virtue;  it  stimulates  us  to  a  higher  and  nobler  life;  it  is  the  test 
of  a  "man."  ,  ,  .  Now  comes  the  practical  teaching.  To-day  I 
asked  one  of  your  professors :  "  What  do  you  tell  a  man  will  help 
him  to  resist  temptation?"  He  said:  "I  tell  him  that  the  best 
thing  by  far  is  to  ignore  it."  Do  you  hear  that,  gentlemen?  —  "  Ig- 
nore it."  Don't  think  he  meant  "take  no  thought  of  it,  or  don't 
think  it  of  any  consequence."  But  it  is  to  be  ignored.  Reckon  ye 
yourselves  dead.  .  .  .  Give  it  no  quarter,  and  the  moment  you  do 
that  a  great  natural  force  comes  at  once  to  your  rescue,  and  the 
most  wonderful  principle  of  nature  backs  you  up  —  "vis  a  tergo  "  — 

1  ©dvaros  =  Death.  2  See  above,  in  the  first  address. 


ADDRESSES  TO   STUDENTS  517 

Degeneration,  that  great  power  which  removes  everything  that  is 
not  used  —  the  great  lopper  off,  the  Scavenger.  For  some  time, 
however,  the  temptation  will  appeal  to  you.  It  will  ask  to  be  heard 
again,  or  for  the  last  time.  It  has  [too]  a  habit  of  hibernating.  .  .  . 
I  say  to  you  —  Trust  in  Nature  and  trust  in  God,  and  Degeneration 
will  do  its  perfect  work. 

'That  is  the  negative,  and  now  I  turn  to  the  positive,  and  would 
like  to  express  it  to  you  in  Scriptural  formula :  Walk  in  the  Spirit. 
Expand  and  enrich  that  higher  life.  In  all  ways  and  in  every  way 
expand.  In  music,  in  the  arts,  in  literature,  in  poetry,  in  religion 
—  anything  which  is  stimulating  to  the  man.  And  I  would  mention 
another  way  which  is  foremost  for  us,  and  that  is,  Work,  good  hard 
work,  nothing  can  keep  the  devil  out  so  well.  .  .  .  But  let  me 
add,  don't  work  too  hard.  In  the  interests  of  physiology  and  the 
physiological  relations  to  temptation,  don't  work  to  excess.' 

Then  follow  some  wise  counsels  about  food  and  exercise;  some 
counsels  taken  from  The  Mental  Diseases  (p.  490),  by  Dr.  Clouston, 
the  lecturer  on  Insanity  in  Edinburgh  University;  and  a  beautiful 
parable.  The  address  closes :  — 

'Now  I  have  only  two  words  to  say.  The  first  is,  Begin  thor- 
oughly. It  is  a  thousand  times  easier  to  live  altogether  for  Christ 
than  half  for  Christ.  Don't  be  an  amphibian,  half  in  one  world, 
half  in  another.  Be  men,  through  and  through,  men  in  Christ  Jesus. 
Come  to  Jesus  now,  and  come  altogether.  —  And  the  other  thing  is : 
Every  man  will  only  finally  succeed  in  gaining  the  victory  in  himself 
so  that  it  includes  others.  A  man  this  week  was  in  difficulty  about 
these  things,  and  I  said,  "Have  you  ever  helped  any  one?"  He 
said,  "No."  So  I  said,  "Well,  go  now  and  help  somebody.  I 
don't  care  how  or  when  you  do  it.  Simply  do  it.  Go  and  help 
somebody." ' 

V.    THE  NEW  NATURE 
(February  23.    Chairman :  Professor  A.  R.  SIMPSON,  M.D.) 

'I  think,  gentlemen,  I  can  get  to  the  position  at  which  we  left  off 
last  Sunday  night  if  I  tell  you  a  story  about  an  Indian  officer. 

'A  certain  Indian  officer  lived  in  a  bungalow  in  India,  and  this 
bungalow  was  elevated  on  the  top  of  a  mound.  One  season  the 
whole  country  was  inundated  with  a  flood;  water  was  everywhere; 
but  there  was  just  a  speck  of  land  which  was  left,  and  it  was  the 
mound  with  the  official  bungalow  upon  it.  And  upon  this  mound 
was  gathered  together  a  motley  crowd  of  natives,  some  wild  beasts, 


5  1 8  APPENDIX 

insects,  and  birds,  all  having  gone  there  for  safety.  And  after  a 
while,  to  the  consternation  of  the  company,  they  observed  a  large, 
fine  Bengal  tiger  swimming  to  the  island.  It  reached  it,  clambered 
up  on  the  bank,  and  lay  down  close  to  the  edge  in  fear  and  quiet- 
ness. It  lay  like  a  dog,  and  did  not  know  what  to  do.  What  made 
that  tiger  be  like  that,  so  quiet?  What  made  it  forget  its  natural 
and  ordinary  fierceness?  It  was  the  expulsive  power  of  a  new  emo- 
tion. It  was  Fear :  the  fierceness  and  wild  nature  were  gone,  and 
it  lay  perfectly  still  because  it  was  afraid.  But  the  officer  knew 
that  shortly  that  fear  would  pass  away,  and  the  fierceness  would  re- 
turn, so  he  took  his  gun  and  walked  close  up  to  the  tiger,  and  put 
the  muzzle  of  the  gun  into  the  tiger's  ear  and  shot;  and  the  great 
beast  rolled  over  dead.  You  say  that  was  cruel.  Maybe,  but  it  was 
the  wisest  thing  to  do.  I  tell  you  that  because  it  brings  out  a  point 
of  great  importance.  It  shows  the  power  of  a  new  emotion,  and  it 
also  shows  its  transitoriness.  What  would  you  and  I  not  give,  I 
would  like  to  know,  to  shoot  dead  in  us  the  tiger?  Some  men  here 
have  for  the  last  five  weeks  been  slowly  killing  it.  I  ask  you  to 
shoot.  Shoot  it  dead. 

1  Last  Sunday  we  tried  to  see  how  to  deal  with  the  animal.  To- 
night I  want  to  show,  if  I  can,  what  is  to  be  done  for  the  Develop- 
ment of  this  New  Nature  when  we  have  ceased  to  live  the  animal 
life  after  our  own  nature.  But  I  need  scarcely  tell  you  that  the  new 
nature,  the  new  life,  may  fade  away  and  pass  off  as  an  emotion 
would  fade.  If  the  officer  could  have  kept  that  tiger  in  great  fear, 
there  would  have  been  no  need  to  shoot.  The  tiger  would  have 
been  domesticated.  The  secret  of  all  taming  of  animals  is  by  a 
process  of  fear  and  subduing  nature.  If  you  and  I  could  keep  up 
the  new  nature  of  ourselves,  we  should  go  on  aright  to  the  end  of 
the  chapter.  But  to  keep  in  the  new  life  and  to  keep  out  of  the 
old  animal  is  the  great  problem  of  religious  life.  How  can  we  be 
brought  into  the  new  life,  that  the  new  life  may  stand  by  us  to  the 
end,  not  for  a  session  or  two,  but  be  something  which  will  build  its 
foundation  into  our  deepest  nature,  that  we  may  be  ready  for  the 
struggle  of  life  which  is  before  us? 

'How  is  the  ship  tested?  When  it  is  in  mid-ocean,  in  the  middle 
of  a  cyclone?  No;  the  ship  is  tested  with  its  ropes  down,  its  masts 
not  yet  fixed,  and  the  last  rivets  not  driven.  It  is  tested  first, 
and  then  it  goes  out  to  sea.  Shortly,  gentlemen,  you  will  be  out 
at  sea,  and  I  must  ask  you,  Is  your  building  stable?  Is  the  helm 
adjusted?  Because  if  it  is  not  thoroughly  made,  it  will  not  over- 
come in  this  world  of  temptation. 


ADDRESSES  TO  STUDENTS  519 

'The  question  of  Evolution,  as  you  know,  is  divisible  into  two 
factors:  (i)  The  Nature  of  the  Organism;  (2)  The  Nature  of  the 
Environment.  We  have  learned  in  the  past  something  of  being 
evolved.  There  are  two  compartments  —  one  the  animal,  the  other 
the  spirit.  That  is  a  correct  classification;  but,  to  be  exact,  split 
the  higher  into  two  or  more  parts,  because  men  must  not  only  stand 
above  the  animal  nature,  but  between  him  and  the  animal  nature  a 
long,  weary  series  of  years,  during  which  our  ancestors  existed,  has 
welded  a  force  into  our  nature,  and  we  must  deal  with  both.  Many 
of  you  are  not  troubled  with  flesh  temptations,  but  you  are  troubled 
with  temptations  of  the  disposition,  so  I  divide  temptations  into  two 
classes  —  from  the  Beast  and  from  the  Savage. 

'  The  question  to-night  is,  How  to  evolve,  how  to  pass  from  the 
Savage.  We  have  already  learned  of  the  Passage  from  the  Beast. 
We  know  we  must  reckon  ourselves  dead,  our  animal  nature  dead. 
We  simply  let  it  alone  and  evolve  past  it.  But  what  is  to  be  done 
with  this  savage  disposition? 

'In  this  disposition  we  have  one  fact,  the  organism,  and  a  second 
fact,  the  environment.  There  is  no  organism  that  is  self-supporting 
or  self-sufficient.  Nothing  can  do  for  itself.  It  must  of  necessity 
be  helped  by  its  environment.1  .  .  .  Now  of  all  created  beings 
man  is  the  most  sensitive  to  his  environment.  .  .  .  God  has  pro- 
vided environments  for  all  other  constituents  of  man's  nature.  .  .  . 
It  is  inconceivable  that  He  has  provided  nothing  for  the  highest  of 
these.  What  has  He  done  for  the  environment  of  the  soul?  He 
has  done  the  most  natural  thing  conceivable.  What  is  it  you  want 
to  be  in  the  Spiritual  Life?  I  say,  you  want  to  play  the  MAN.  We 
want  to  be  above  the  Savage,  not  below.  The  Savage  state  is  self- 
ishness, love  of  approbation,  absence  of  sympathy  ;  these  are  the 
marks  of  the  Savage.  We  have  the  same  savage  in  us.  He  has 
come  to  us  through  our  ancestors,  and  he  is  in  every  one  of  us.  We 
must  find  somewhere  a  larger  mind,  a  sweeter  disposition.  Now, 
what  God  has  done  is  to  place  before  you  and  me  an  absolutely  Per- 
fect Man,  with  whom,  as  we  are  in  contact,  we  shall  rise.  He  is  to 
be  our  environment,  and  we  shall  slowly  change  till  we  are  like  Him. 
Can  a  man  be  born  when  he  is  old?  Not  so  easily,  I  grant  you,  as 
when  he  is  young.  But  still  he  may  be  born  when  he  is  old  ;  it  is 
not  impossible,  and  this  new  birth  is  a  change  in  a  man's  nature,  as 
he  is  in  contact  with  the  perfect  spirit  and  the  perfect  nature  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  I  am  not  talking  any  false  religion  or  cant. 
It  is  perfectly  natural  that  a  man's  nature  may  be  changed  by 

1  Here  follow  several  illustrations  from  the  physical  sphere. 


52O  APPENDIX 

the  spirit  and  nature  of  another  man.  God  sent  Newton  to  teach 
physics,  Kepler  astronomy,  Darwin  biology.  And  God  sent  Christ 
to  teach  humanity.  I  do  not  put  Christ  on  the  same  level  as 
Newton  or  Darwin.  I  am  speaking  of  analogue,  not  of  homologue. 
As  Christ  was  a  perfect  representation  of  God  Himself,  by  so  much 
more  was  He  greater  than  Newton,  Kepler,  or  Darwin.  But  just  as 
these  men  were  provided  by  God  for  the  times,  and  each  taught  and 
perfected  his  own  science  to  his  best  ability,  so  Christ  was  provided 
as  an  environment  of  thought  and  nature  for  the  spirit  and  nature 
of  man.  In  a  word,  He  was  divine.  But  that  does  not  remove 
Him  from  the  rational  and  intelligent,  for  it  is  by  taking  Christ 
as  a  man  that  we  understand  the  power  of  His  life.  There's  the 
principle,  and  it  is  demonstrable  by  science.  Nothing  can  evolve 
of  itself.  .  .  .  There  is  something  without  which  you  cannot 
possibly  grow.  Without  Me  ye  can  do  nothing.  Get  into  contact 
with  the  perfect  life  of  Christ,  and  leave  the  rest  to  nature.  But 
how  is  this  to  be  done?' 

There  follows  a  passage  on  the  real  and  full  manhood  of  Christ, 
and  the  absence  of  mawkishness,  sanctimoniousness,  and  effeminacy 
from  true  Christianity. 

'  Find  out  the  people  who  are  the  friends  of  Christ.  Read  books 
about  Him.  Find  how  He  spoke,  how  He  lived,  what  He  lived 
for,  how  He  died,  and  what  He  died  for.  Faith  cometh  by  hear- 
ing, and  you  will  find  as  certainly  as  anything  that  an  irresistible 
passion  will  rise  within  you.  .  .  .  You  say  to  me,  "Give  me  de- 
tails about  Him."  I  cannot  do  that,  for  time  is  passing.  Read 
Ullmann,  read  Ecce  Homo,  read  any  of  the  recent  great  biographies 
of  Christ.  Can  you  not  spend  thirty  minutes  of  your  life  in  getting 
to  know  the  Perfect  Man?  Go  home  and  take  up  the  best  of  all 
the  lives,  the  exquisite  biographies  by  simple,  honest  men,  the 
authors  of  the  New  Testament.  Begin  with  Matthew;  and  if  you 
don't  run  aground  before  the  end  of  the  fifth  chapter,  I  shall  be 
astonished.  You  cannot  help  yourselves,  gentlemen.  You  read  a 
few  verses,  and  you  fall  hopelessly  in  love  with  a  Man  you  have  so 
far  neglected.  Slowly  the  knowledge  changes  into  character,  and 
that  is  changed  in  turn  into  the  same  Image.  .  .  .  Then  you  lisp, 
"  My  Lord  and  my  God  ";  then  you  know  His  Divinity. 

'This  is  not  a  sudden  change.  .  .  .  You  won't  find  this  life  in 
Christ  in  these  meetings;  no  sensation  revival  and  sweep  and  all 
done.  To-day  and  to-morrow  will  be  the  same,  generally  speaking, 
because  the  evolution  of  a  life  is  a  gradual  process.  Start  in  a 
moment.  Be  born  now,  but  grow  like  unto  Him,  and  be  changed 


ADDRESSES  TO   STUDENTS  521 

in  time  into  His  image,  for  the  kingdom  of  God  comcth  without 
observation. 

WHAT   COMING   TO    CHRIST   MEANS 

'  There  will  be  two  more  meetings  only,  and  I  want  to  say  a  very 
few  words  to  those  who  are  really  anxious  for  these  things.  I  want 
to  be  practical,  and  so  I  am  going  to  ask  those  of  you  who  would 
like  to  stay  for  ten  minutes  to  keep  your  seats  while  we  sing  a  hymn. 
You  will  be  asked  no  questions;  you'll  not  even  be  called  to  come 
forward.  You  may  remain  in  the  seats  you  occupy.  We  want  new 
lives  and  consecration  to  Christ.  Now  I  hope  all  the  rest  will  go 
out  quietly  as  we  sing  the  last  verse  of  the  hymn. ' 

Some  two  dozen  men  left.  '  The  rest, '  eight  hundred  or  nine 
hundred,  remained  for  the  ten  minutes. 

'  Gentlemen,  I  proposed  this  because,  unless  I  am  wrong,  there  are 
men  in  the  hall  to-night  who  have  seriously  made  up  their  minds 
to  live  for  Christ.  And  there  is  another  set  of  men,  more  numerous 
still  perhaps,  who  do  not  know  whether  or  not  they  are  Christians. 
There  is  a  certain  value  in  decision  on  our  own  parts;  not  that  the 
change  from  the  old  to  the  new  life  is  marked  by  any  decisive 
periods,  but  it  is  help  to  many  following  Christ  and  to  many  hang- 
ing back  to  have  definite  epochs  of  encouragement  or  choice. 

'  I  want  to  ask  you  one  or  two  questions  in  the  secret  chambers  of 
your  hearts. 

'  Why  do  you  come  to  Christ?  What  do  you  want?  Is  there  a 
sense  of  need  ?  Do  you  want  the  unholy  part  to  be  blotted  out  for- 
ever? If  so,  you  have  come  to  the  right  place,  for  God  for  the  sake 
of  Jesus  forgives  sin. 

'  Have  you  a  sense  of  the  power  of  sin  that  nothing  you  know  of 
can  break?  Do  you  believe  Christ  is  stronger  than  the  Devil?  If 
so,  again  you  have  come  to  the  right  place,  for  that  is  true. 

'Are  you  longing  to  live  a  better,  nobler,  truer  life?  If  so,  again 
you  have  come  to  the  right  place,  because  Christ  alone  can  give 
you  this.  Remember,  Blessed  are  they  that  hunger  and  thirst  after 
righteousness. 

'Another  question  is,  Have  you  counted  the  cost?  Have  you 
made  up  your  mind  to  throw  in  your  lot  with  the  people  of  Christ? 
I  don't  ask  you  to  be  identified  with  all  that  is  done  in  the  name  of 
Religion.  Religion  is  a  popular  thing,  and  many  things  are  done 
in  its  name  which  will  make  you  revolt;  but  I  do  insist  that  you 
shall  not  be  ashamed  to  be  identified  with  Christian  men  and  join 
them  in  their  work  for  the  world.  Gentlemen,  count  the  cost. 


522  APPENDIX 

Have  you  made  up  your  mind  to  say  good-by  to  the  world,  the  flesh, 
and  the  devil  ?  If  your  answer  is,  Yes,  I  have  to  say  that  you  are 
eligible  candidates  for  the  kingdom  of  God,  for  of  such  is  the 
kingdom  made.  And  I  have  further  to  add,  that  you  are  not  only 
eligible,  but  invited;  that  on  the  authority  of  Chirst.  It  is  not 
presumption  on  your  part.  You  are  to  come  just  as  you  are.  Little 
as  you  have  and  are,  you  are  requested  to  bring  it  all  for  the  service 
of  the  Master.  Otherwise,  otherwise  you  are  not  wanted.  He  says, 
Come  unto  Me;  Give  Me  thine  heart,  thine  all;  and,  Him  that 
cometh  unto  Me,  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out.  It  is  Recruits  Wanted! 
A  personal  invitation.  Christ  has  set  His  heart  on  you  here  and 
now;  and  now  and  here  invites  you  to  enter  into  His  life. 

'What  steps  must  you  take?  Different  are  the  aspects,  different 
the  ways  all  leading  unto  Him.  We  are  told  in  the  last  chapter  but 
one  in  Revelation  that  the  twelve  gates  of  the  city  were  twelve 
pearls.  You  may  come  in  by  any  of  them :  some  of  you  will  come 
by  one,  some  by  another.  Don't  think  you  must  go  in  by  the  way 
your  friend  went.  Go  your  own  way.  Every  single  gate  was  of  one 
pearl.  Spurgeon  goes  in  by  one;  Robertson  of  Brighton  by  another; 
you  by  a  third.  Go  just  as  you  are  in  your  own  nature.  You  must 
get  near  to  Christ  and  close  to  Him.  The  emphasis  is  on  the 
object,  not  the  action  of  faith;  and  that  which  is  in  us  showing  us 
the  way  is  Christ  Himself  holding  out  His  hand  to  help  us. 

'  There  are  one  or  two  different  aspects  in  the  New  Testament  of 
the  Christian  Life  —  a  Race,  a  Fight,  and  Fellowship  (John's  aspect). 
.  .  .  They  are  all  the  same,  and  include  one  another.1  .  .  . 

'  You  are  before  God  now.  Just  tell  Him  all  about  it.  Tell  Him 
your  need.  Consecrate  your  life  and  talents  to  His  service;  and  if 
you  will  listen,  you  will  hear  Him  say,  Him  that  cometh,  him  that 
cometh  I  will  not  cast  out. 

'  I  cannot  guarantee  that  the  stars  will  shine  brighter  when  you 
leave  this  hall  to-night,  or  that  when  you  wake  to-morrow  a  new 
world  will  open  before  you.  But  I  do  guarantee  that  Christ  will 
keep  that  which  you  have  committed  to  Him.  He  will  keep  His 
promise,  and  you  will  find  something  real  and  dependable  to  rely 
on  and  lead  you  away  from  documental  evidence  to  Him  who 
speaks  to  you  in  your  hearts  at  this  moment. 

'Gentlemen,  He  will  be  youi  leader,  He  will  be  your  guide,  He 
will  be  your  highest  ideal.  He  has  asked  you  for  your  life,  and  He 
will  make  you  just  as  you  are  at  this  moment  His  —  entirely  His.' 

1  Here  follows  what  he  said  in  1885  about  matriculating  in  the  school  of  Christ 


ADDRESSES  TO   STUDENTS  523 

VI.   WHAT  IT   IS  TO   BE  A  CHRISTIAN 
(March  2.     Chairman :  The  Rev.  Professor  FLINT,  D.D.,  LL JX) 

'Gentlemen,  I  do  not  feel  at  all  anxious  to  continue  the  some- 
what formal  set  of  addresses  which  I  have  given  to  you.  Not  only 
because  this  is  one  of  the  last,  and  we  are  near  the  end,  but  because 
we  cannot  possibly  go  on  to-night  as  if  nothing  had  happened  last 
Sunday  evening.  You  remember  that  at  the  end  of  the  meeting  I 
expressed  a  wish  that  those  who  desired  to  come  to  the  point  and 
know  what  were  the  first  steps  into  the  Christian  life  should  wait 
behind  the  others  for  ten  minutes;  and,  as  you  know,  several  hun- 
dred men  remained;  and  therefore,  gentlemen,  it  is  impossible  to 
go  on  as  usual.  You  remember  that  I  asked  you  to  count  the  cost. 
Have  you  done  so?  I  asked  you  if  you  felt  a  sense  of  need,  and 
I  put  Christianity  before  you  in  the  form  of  four  metaphors,  which 
I  chose  from  Scripture,  in  which  I  explained  to  you  the  beginning 
of  the  Christian  life.' 

Professor  Drummond  then  summarised  his  second  address  of  the 
previous  evening,  and  added :  — 

'Decide  once  for  all,  and  have  no  more  coquetting  with  the  world, 
the  flesh,  and  the  devil.  You  cannot  serve  two  masters.  Make  up 
your  mind,  gentlemen,  what  you  are  going  to  do. 

'When  a  man  begins  to  be  a  Christian,  he  does  not  commit  him- 
self to  a  great  many  things  which  some  people  think  necessary. 
The  antithesis  is  not  whether  good  or  bad,  but  the  choice  between 
temporal  and  eternal.  Christianity  is  not  to  make  men  behave 
themselves  —  all  men  should  do  that.  Paul  did  it  before  his  con- 
version. .  .  .  Christianity  is  to  be  something  more  than  good. 

'I  need  not  tell  you,  of  course,  that  it  is  not  necessary  for  Chris- 
tians to  go  to  church.  Thousands  of  Christians  never  go,  and  thou- 
sands go  who  are  not  Christians.  .  .  .  But  I  qualify  the  statement 
by  saying  that  every  right-minded  man  will  go  to  church,  because  it 
is  advisable  and  expedient.  Not  only  as  a  personal  matter,  but  for 
the  sake  of  the  community,  associate  yourselves  with  the  people  of 
God.  A  Christian  can  do  without  church,  but  it  weakens  himself 
not  to  go.  To  go  to  church  is  to  be  taught  how  to  do  without 
church,  and,  though  I  say  this,  I  also  say  that  if  he  goes  he  will  be 
fed.  He  will  be  helped,  and  he  will  have  a  better  chance  of  sur- 
vival in  the  higher  life.  However  much  you  like  to  despise  such 
institutions,  if  you  give  them  up  you  will  get  lost;  because  they  pre- 
vent Reversion.  A  domesticated  animal  cannot  go  back  to  the  wild 


524  APPENDIX 

state  —  it  will  die.  All  Christians  should  make  that  an  impossi- 
bility by  building  up  around  them  a  fortress. 

'  In  the  next  place,  to  be  a  Christian  does  not  mean  that  you  must 
believe  in  all  the  various  doctrines.  All  doctrines  are  not  Chris- 
tianity. Many  a  man  with  no  doctrine  is  a  Christian.  .  .  .  Chris- 
tianity is  not  a  thing  to  be  proved,  but  a  life  to  be  lived.  But  I 
qualify  this  also.  You  men  will  be  wise  indeed  to  find  out  and 
study  the  great  doctrines  of  Christianity.  There  are  doctrines  in 
Christianity  as  much  as  in  medicine.  The  authorities  are  as  scien- 
tific in  method  as  the  most  learned  scientific  observer  here.  You 
must  search  theology  as  you  do  other  subjects.  Go  to  the  experts, 
not  to  the  penny  magazines.  From  tracts  men  get  depraved  and 
distorted  views  of  the  great  Christian  doctrines,  as,  for  example, 
the  Incarnation  and  Atonement.  Take  your  stimulus  from  wherever 
you  like,  but  for  doctrines  you  must  go  to  authorities  as  trustworthy 
and  confident  as  you  go  to  in  any  other  subject. 

'  I  do  not  say  that  to  be  a  Christian  you  must  have  no  doubts. 
Doubts  show  interest  and  zeal,  and  I  pity  the  man  here  to-night  who 
is  cocksure  of  everything  in  Christianity.  It  is  not  all  plain  as  a 
pikestaff.  .  .  .  Doubt  is  one  of  the  most  blessed  states  a  man  can 
be  in.  It  is  the  purifier  of  thought.  Until  he  has  doubted  and 
then  thought,  faith  to  a  man  is  merely  credulity.  .  .  .  No  man 
can  live  in  this  nineteenth  century  and  not  have  doubts.  .  .  .  All 
great  truths  are  doubtable.  I  don't  say  doubtful,  but  doubtable. 
The  instrument  through  which  a  doubter  looks  is  broken  more  or 
less,  and  it  must  be  corrected  for  achromatism  or  distortion.  Men 
don't  understand,  and  when  they  don't  understand  they  doubt. 
There  was  no  class  of  men  with  whom  Christ  was  more  sympathetic 
than  those  who  doubted.  He  liked  to  get  away  from  the  Pharisees 
and  the  men  who  were  cocksure,  the  men  who  "knew  it  all,"  and  to 
walk  with  the  humble,  true-hearted,  loving  spirit.  .  .  .  Christ  was 
not  hard  on  those  who  were  not  sure.  He  was  not  narrow,  like  so 
many  Christians  to-day.  There  was  no  speculation  about  His  teach- 
ing. He  taught  truth  which  men  might  lay  their  hands  upon  and 
grasp.  He  said  to  them  all:  I  don't  speak  truth,  or  about  truth 
either,  but  I  am  truth.  I  am  truth  —  the  truth  of  life,  of  conscience, 
of  righteousness.  .  .  . 

'Well,  all  these  things,  gentlemen,  are  non-essential;  and  there 
are  one  or  two  minor  things  which  men  must  not  hold  back  for.  I 
am  often  told  by  men  here  in  Edinburgh  that  they  don't  come  to 
Christ  because  they  are  told  that  it  is  setting  themselves  up.  This 
is  a  charge  made  against  every  man,  and  I  acknowledge  the  possi- 


ADDRESSES  TO   STUDENTS  525 

bility  that  self  may  wrongly  get  set  up.  But  so  far  from  a  man  feel- 
ing set  up  by  accepting  Christ,  he  feels  like  a  brand  plucked  from 
the  burning,  and  it  is  the  grace  of  God  which  is  holding  him  up  by 
the  skin  of  his  teeth  —  the  grace  of  God  which  has  pulled  him  out 
of  the  mire  of  his  temptations. 

'Others  come  and  say  they  don't  like  to  begin,  because  they  are 
afraid  they  will  go  back.  This  is  remedied  completely  by  making 
a  decided  step  and  stand  for  Christ.  Be  a  Christian,  and  let  men 
know  it. 

'Everything  in  Christianity,  I  always  think,  should  be  in  the 
superlative  degree.  The  best  men  are  the  men  Christ  wants.  The 
best  mentally,  the  best  morally,  the  best  socially.' 

Then  he  pointed  out  the  high  places  in  the  honours  list  of  medi- 
cine which  were  gained  by  men  foremost  in  the  Christian  life  of  the 
University,  and  also  how  some  of  the  latter  were  members  of  the 
University  Fifteen. 

'I  have  said  all  this,  gentlemen,  because  there  are  men  who  delay 
because  they  expect  some  marked  epoch  in  their  lives  to  usher  them 
into  the  Christian  life.  They  are  waiting  for  some  catastrophe  to 
begin  the  new  life.  I  tell  you,  it  is  a  mistake.  Nature  does  not 
work  by  bangs,  catastrophes,  and  great  events,  Nature  works  silently, 
Nature  glides;  and  I  solemnly  say  that  I  know  of  nothing  in  the 
wide  world  more  natural  than  Christianity,  for  the  Kingdom  of  God 
cometh  without  observation. ' 

He  then  stated  the  case  of  the  Metazoa,  and  illustrated  meta- 
morphoses taking  place  after  birth,  from  the  caterpillar  and  butterfly. 
*  So  is  it,'  he  said,  'with  man.  No  wonder  that  Christ  said  Marvel 
not. '  Here  follow  the  heads  and  much  of  the  matter  of  his  own 
sermon  on  'Marvel  Not '  in  the  Ideal  Life. 

'And  now  I  have  told  you  the  negative  side  of  the  question  with 
which  we  started,  and  the  positive  is,  Help  on  the  evolution  of  the 
world.  Although  Christ  allows  us  to  be  indefinite  about  our  beliefs 
[?  doctrines],  still  He  has  expressed  this  duty  in  the  plainest  pos- 
sible way.  Look  all  through  the  New  Testament,  and  the  important 
facts  of  Christ  are  marked  by  Verily.  To  those  you  must  be  con- 
sistent, for  He  has  asserted  His  purpose  to  carry  on  the  evolution  of 
the  world.  But  He  uses  a  figure  of  speech,  The  Kingdom  of  God. 
This  is  evolution.  It  begins,  He  says,  in  the  grain,  then  the  blade, 
then  the  ear,  then  the  full  corn  in  the  ear.  What  do  you  want  more  ? 
Is  not  that  a  precise  evolutionary  statement?  .  .  .  The  man  who 
joins  the  Christian  Life  finds  security  and  something  which,  as  a 
Law  of  the  World,  will  evolve  the  animal  into  the  perfect  man. 


526  APPENDIX 

'Let  me  choose  three  words  which  Christ  used  to  make  His  teach- 
ings plain, —  Salt,  Leaven,  Light. 

'What  use  is  Salt?  It  is  to  keep  things  from  going  rotten.  .  .  . 
It  is  Christ  that  keeps  this  University  from  going  rotten.  It  is  the 
followers  of  Christ  in  this  city  that  keep  Edinburgh  from  going 
rotten.  .  .  .  Without  Christ  this  world  would  fall  to  pieces.  There 
is  nothing  in  Nature  which  can  hold  together  without  the  salt  of 
Truth,  Honour,  and  Righteousness. 

'What  does  Leaven  do?  It  raises.  Why  is  it  that  education  fol- 
lows Christ  round  the  world?  Because  Christ  is  the  elevating  and 
raising  force  of  the  world. 

'And,  gentlemen,  Christ  is  the  Light  of  the  World.  The  moral 
Light  and  the  mental  Light.  Half  of  the  great  problems  are  un- 
solved, because  they  are  without  Christ  and  without  light.  Increase 
your  knowledge,  and  you  will  increase  your  sorrow.  It  will  trouble 
you.  You  will  be  weary  of  it,  and  there  will  be  no  end.  But  hear 
this  from  Christ :  Learn  of  Me,  and  ye  shall  find  rest.  The  more 
you  think  and  know,  so  much  the  more  will  you  find  in  Christ. 

'Christ  wants  you  to  join  Him  in  His  work:  this  is  the  motif 'of 
God  through  all  the  ages.  Is  it  not  worthy  to  accompany  Him  in 
the  evolution  of  the  world?  There  is  no  higher  life  than  helping 
others.  And  the  only  way  it  is  to  be  done  is  by  men's  lives.  .  .  . 
I  solemnly  say,  God  wants  you.  As  you  came  along  the  street  to- 
night you  heard  a  man  preaching  the  gospel  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  You 
heard  the  bare,  narrow,  stern  religion,  and  as  you  passed,  a  smile 
crossed  your  lips.  Why?  Because  you  know  of  something  which 
is  broad  and  lovely,  infinitely  loving  and  beautiful.  I  say,  don't 
laugh  till  you  have  done  better;  for  these  men  are  the  evangelisers 
of  the  world.  So  don't  sneer  at  them,  but,  gentlemen,  cast  in  your 
lot  with  them,  go  forth,  stand  under  the  lamp-posts,  and  tell  out  to 
the  world  the  grand  old  story  of  Jesus  and  His  Love. 

'  The  first  thing  is  to  carry  that  story  into  the  world  in  your  lives. 
Every  man  here  to-night  who  names  the  name  of  Christ  is  to  create 
round  him  an  environment  of  Christ,  so  that  men  shall  see  the  king- 
dom of  God,  and  grow  up  like  Christ.  Give  them  the  social  posi- 
tion to  serve  Him;  give  them  legislation,  give  them  wages,  give 
them  houses;  to  keep,  to  spend,  to  live  in  for  His  sake  and  service. 

'And,  gentlemen,  to  you,  some  of  you,  who  will  go  out  to  your 
village  and  be  the  doctor  of  the  neighbourhood,  to  you  I  say :  Create 
the  environment  of  Christ.  Be  some  one  to  remind  the  people  of 
Jesus.  Be  some  one  to  represent  Christ  in  the  district.  Do  what 
He  would  do;  say  what  He  would  say;  live  as  He  would  live,  just  as 


ADDRESSES  TO   STUDENTS  527 

if  He  were  the  Doctor  of  the  neighbourhood.     Live  the  life,  and 
reproduce  the  life  of  Christ. 

'  To  those  of  you  who  have  in  the  past  few  weeks  learned  the  rudi- 
ments of  following  Him,  I  offer  my  sincere  congratulations,  because 
this  will  grow.  Be  decided  for  Him.  I  am  more  and  more  con- 
vinced of  the  fact  that  what  the  world  wants  now  is  not  more  men 
of  the  ordinary  type  of  Christian,  but  better  men  and  finer  men : 
men  consecrated  to  Christ,  men  out  and  out  for  Christ,  whose  one 
life's  ambition  is  not  to  get  rich  or  achieve  a  great  name,  but  to 
learn  of  Him,  and  to  seek_/£r$7  the  kingdom  of  God  and  His  righteous- 
ness. 

VII.    ADDRESS  BEFORE  COMMUNION 
THE   BREAD   OF  LIFE 

(March  9.  Chairman:  Rev.  Professor  CHARTERIS,  D.D.,  who  afterwards  pre- 
sided at  the  Communion  Service  and  dispensed  the  Sacrament.  There  also 
assisted  Principal  Sir  William  Muir,  the  Rev.  Principal  Cairns,  Professor 
Calderwood,  Professor  Crum-Brown,  Drs.  Coldstream,  Barbour,  etc.) 

'  Gentlemen,  I  am  glad  that  this  series  of  meetings  is  to  close  by 
our  sitting  down  together  at  the  Lord's  Supper.  Because  it  is  one 
of  the  many  things  that  bring  into  our  memories  the  necessity  of 
living  upon  Christ.  It  teaches  you  and  me,  in  the  first  place,  that 
man  may  be  hungry,  and  it  shows  us  that  Christ  is  the  Bread  of  Life. 
And,  secondly,  the  presence  of  the  actual  bread  is  an  object  lesson 
to  us  which  will  emphasise  the  essential  things  that  we  are  to  carry 
away  with  us.  I  was  talking  last  Sunday  to  a  man  who  said  that 
though  he  could  live  for  Christ  at  the  close  of  the  meetings,  or  could 
even  for  a  month  or  so  keep  straight,  yet  after  that  his  new  life  went 
down  and  was  lost.  Now,  gentlemen,  this  proves  two  things.  It 
proves  the  possibility  of  a  man  living  for  Christ  and  keeping  straight 
under  suitable  conditions,  and  it  proves  also  that  if  a  man  tries  liv- 
ing without  the  Bread  he  will  flag  and  die.  You  can't  live  on  air. 
You  can't  live  on  one  another.  You  can't  live  on  what  I  say;  but, 
gentlemen,  you  can  live  on  the  Bread  of  Life,  which  is  Jesus  Christ. 

'  Now  the  great  question  which  we  must  ask  ourselves  is  this,  Have 
we  ourselves,  at  first  hand,  learned  to  draw  our  nourishment  and 
strength  from  Christ?  I  want  you  to  settle  now  and  forever,  Is  He 
the  heart  and  kernel  and  spring  of  your  life,  or  is  He  not?  If  He 
is  not,  then  all  these  meetings  are  of  no  avail,  all  this  talk  of  no  use; 
but  if  He  is,  then,  gentlemen,  you  need  nothing  else,  for  He  is  the 
Bread  of  Life. 


528  APPENDIX 

'  Your  holidays  are  coming  to  some  of  you,  and  to  some  of  you 
your  examinations.  Now  I  warn  you  the  hour  will  come  when 
hunger  will  assert  itself,  and  I  tell  you  to-night  that  Christ  is  the 
Bread  at  that  hour.  The  time  will  come  when  temptation  will  knock 
at  the  door,  and  it  will  be  something  then  to  know  that  Jesus  Christ 
is  the  Bread.  Perhaps  during  the  summer  you  will  meet  another 
beggar,  and  you  will  hear  his  piteous  cry,  and  you  will  see  his  con- 
dition, and  you  will  want  to  feed  him.  It  will  be  something  then 
to  know  that  Christ  is  the  Bread  of  Life  and  can  keep  a  man  from 
starvation.  Keep  from  starvation?  Aye,  and  not  only  that,  but 
give  happiness  and  fulness  to  life. 

'  The  problem  of  Nutrition  is  the  fundamental  problem  of  physi- 
ology, the  fundamental  problem  of  living  beings.  So  exactly  is  it 
the  fundamental  problem  of  the  Christian  life.' 

He  then  drew  a  long  analogy  between  physical  and  spiritual  nutri- 
tion in  the  terms  of  physiology. 

'  But  the  closest  parallel  I  can  draw  is  that  which  we  see  in  life  and 
read  of  in  tales,  where  one  man  is  the  sustenance  and  life  of  another, 
or  more  often  where  a  woman  is  the  sustenance  and  help  of  a  man. 
Something  which  is  very  pure,  which  is  fresh,  which  is  high  and 
lofty  —  why,  it  throws  an  influence  around  the  base  life  which  ele- 
vates and  ennobles  that  miserable  life  to  the  level  of  its  own.  Not 
in  a  day.  Not  in  a  year.  But  in  a  long  continuous  process  which 
works  unseen.  How  is  it  done?  By  abiding  in  the  presence  of 
that  which  is  pure  and  noble.  One  life  affects  the  other,  and  the 
weak  becomes  stimulated  and  roused;  there  are  the  elements  of 
growth.  So  a  man  who  abides  in  the  presence  of  Jesus  Christ  in 
some  mystical  way  appropriates,  unconsciously  and  unavoidably, 
the  life  and  character  of  Christ,  so  that  he  is  built  up  like  Him. 
That  is  the  whole  process.  It  is  perfectly  simple  and  perfectly 
natural.  The  point  of  importance  is  this,  that  it  is  quite  impossible 
to  go  on  at  all  in  the  spiritual  life  without  living  in  the  immediate 
presence  and  fellowship  of  Christ.  This,  gentlemen,  is  to  reach 
the  Supreme.  This  is  to  be  nourished  and  strengthened  for  life, 
not  showing  just  a  leaf  or  two  of  the  fruits,  not  something  that  will 
last  only  to  the  end  of  the  session;  but  something  that  will  last  from 
day  to  day.  You  know  of  people  who  have  fasted  thirty  days. 
Don't  try  that  in  your  own  spiritual  lives.  You  cannot  do  it.  Give 
us  this  day  our  daily  bread.  And,  gentlemen,  I  warn  you  in  all 
affection  and  humility  that  if  we  try  living  on  ourselves,  it  will  fail. 
Why?  Because  Jesus  has  said,  Without  Me  ye  can  do  nothing. 
Nothing  at  all,  so  don't  try  it.  Our  spiritual  lives  will  dry  up;  our 


ADDRESSES   TO   STUDENTS  529 

characters  become  poor,  our  faculties  atrophied.  You  may  have  ill- 
health  and  a  breakdown  in  your  spiritual,  as  in  your  natural,  lives. 
It  is  just  as  simple,  just  as  natural.  Eat  bad  food,  or  no  food,  and 
it  will  tell  in  a  fortnight.  Your  nourishment  must  be  pure,  noble, 
lovely,  and  of  good  report,  or  else  you  will  lose  your  appetite. 
These  meetings  may  come  again,  but  you  will  not  be  there.  The 
Christian  men  will  know  you  not,  and  you  will  not  be  found  with 
them,  because  you  have  lost  the  taste  of  better  food.  This  I  say : 
Let  us  keep  ourselves  in  Christ  as  we  are  now;  live  day  by  day;  and 
be  renewed  day  by  day  into  the  image  of  Christ  Himself.  Surely 
that  is  simple  to  understand,  and  perfectly  natural. 

'  But,  gentlemen,  you  need  something  more  than  bare  life,  I  tell 
you.  Christ  expects  from  men  like  you  more  than  mere  life.  He 
wants  the  fulness  and  richness  of  Himself  impressed  for  ever  upon 
you.  He  wants  from  you  the  Christian  graces  In  their  fullest  and 
utmost  perfection.  We  hear  that  as  long  as  men  have  the  roots  of 
these  things  they  are  all  right,  and  never  mind  about  the  graces.  I 
answer,  What  do  you  imagine  a  garden  like  full  of  roots  only? 
Beautiful  soil  yet  —  nothing  but  roots!  What  do  you  say  to  a  gar- 
den full  of  sov.r  apples?  What  is  the  difference  between  a  sour 
apple  and  a  sweet  pippin?  The  gardener  will  tell  you  it  is  a  differ- 
ence mainly  of  nutrition.  Transplant  that  sour  apple,  give  it  your 
best  soil,  give  it  fresh  air  and  sunshine,  and  lo !  it  becomes  larger, 
and  then  it  changes  and  becomes  sweet,  and  then  luscious  and  juicy. 
Take  only  average  food,  and  you  will  have  average  life;  but  good 
nourishment  will  bring  forth  a  strong  and  beautiful  character. 

'  You  will  find  in  your  Bibles  a  lovely  phrase  which  I  like  very 
much.  It  is  this:  The  Beauty  of  Holiness.  The  Beauty!  The 
perfection  of  the  Christian  character;  not  simply  things  done  after 
a  good  style,  but  things  done  with  beauty  and  with  grace.  Look  for 
a  moment  at  the  exquisite  loveliness,  beauty,  and  grace  which  char- 
acterised all  the  actions  of  Jesus.  There  is  a  marvellous  grace  about 
each  and  all;  there  is  an  attractive  peculiarity  which  calls  forth  un- 
bidden our  deepest  love  and  admiration.  What  is  it?  Gentlemen, 
it  is  the  Beauty  of  Holiness. 

'  There  are  a  great  many  graces  which  go  to  form  our  religion. 
Religion  does  not  just  consist  in  stopping  this  sin  and  stopping  that, 
and  fleeing  this  temptation  or  that,  but  it  consists  in  growing  —  not 
perfection,  but  growth  —  growing  into  the  likeness  of  Christ.  If  a 
man's  ideal  is  simply  to  stop  sinning,  his  Christian  life  becomes 
monotonous.  The  man  here  who  knows  how  to  play  the  violin  goes 
to  hear  R play,  and  it  dawns  upon  him  that  it  will  take  at  least 

2M 


5  3O  APPENDIX 

another  twenty  years  before  he  can  play  at  all.  The  artist  goes 
through  the  Turner  gallery,  and  he  finds  it  will  take  him  a  lifetime 
to  copy  the  major  points  from  Turner.  The  man  who  will  sit  down 
for  twenty  minutes  in  his  room  and  look  at  the  character  of  Jesus 
Christ,  feels  his  longest  life  not  long  enough;  nay,  that  eternity 
itself  is  not  long  enough  to  approach  the  surpassing  and  infinite 
glory  of  that  Figure.  Then,  gentlemen,  a  new  sensation  comes. 
He  rises  and  —  what?  Lo!  He  is  hungry  and  thirsty.  He  hun- 
gers and  thirsts  to  live  like  that,  or  see  in  himself  and  in  others  the 
mind  which  was  in  Christ  Jesus.  The  spiritual  life  becomes  stale 
and  uninteresting  when  the  man  has  lost  sight  of  his  Ideal.  He  has 
forgotten  his  life's  work.  He  perishes  morally,  just  as  he  would  do 
in  his  physical  nature  by  ceasing  to  take  nourishment. 

'  But  we  are  told  by  some  that  beauty  in  character  is  a  matter  of 
birth;  that  it  is  a  matter  of  temperament  whether  you  and  I  have  a 
bad  temper  or  not;  whether  we  have  patience,  gentleness,  meek- 
ness, and  that  therefore  we  need  not  trouble  about  them.  These 
may  have  been  affected  by  predisposition  —  they  are,  I  grant  you, 
influenced  more  or  less  by  heredity  —  but  I  say,  these  are  fitted  into 
men's  lives.  Any  man  in  this  hall  who  covets  any  single  virtue  or 
grace  can  have  it,  if  he  sets  about  getting  it  in  the  right  way.  Let 
me  try  and  indicate  some  of  these  graces. 

'  I  remember  well  how  I  used  to  pray  for  joy.  I  was  told  that  a 
Christian  must  be  joyful.  I  prayed  and  prayed,  and  I  must  say  I 
did  not  get  it.  Why  not?  Because  it  does  not  come  by  prayer 
alone.  It  may  come  that  way,  but  not  alone.  I  used  to  think  that 
joy  was  kept  in  lumps  —  packets  which  were  stored  up  and  then 
doled  out  —  or  injected  like  morphia  —  and  that  if  I  prayed  a  lump 
would  come.  This  is  a  material  conception  that  many  hold.  They 
want  virtues  and  graces,  and  they  set  to  and  pray.  They  pray  for 
rest,  peace,  love,  joy,  and  they  hope  these  will  drop  from  heaven 
and  stay  with  them  forever.  But  these  are  Fruits.  How  can  you 
have  Fruits  without  Branches  ?  Where  are  your  branches  to  bear 
fruit,  where  is  your  blossom  to  precede  it?  What's  the  use  of  a 
lump  of  joy  if  there  are  no  branches?  Now,  gentlemen,  look  up 
in  your  Bibles  and  find  out  how  to  get  joy;  find  the  cause  of  joy. 
Work  by  the  law  you  know  of  as  "  cause  and  effect."  Joy  is  an  effect, 
find  the  cause.  There  is  one,  just  as  surely  as  you  have  a  cause  for 
toothache.  Turn  to  the  fifteenth  of  John,  and  there  you  will  read 
the  parable  of  the  Vine  in  the  words  of  Jesus.  He  tells  His  disci- 
ples about  the  tree  and  its  branches,  and  then  He  tells  them  the 
"why"  of  these  things:  These  things  have  I  spoken  unto  you,  that 


ADDRESSES  TO  STUDENTS  531 

My  joy  might  remain  in  you,  and  that  your  joy  might  be  full.  That 
is  the  end  of  the  parable  —  the  cause  of  joy,  something  of  which 
the  effect  is  joy.  Joy  comes  of  a  great  law.  But  what  is  the  con- 
dition? Go  home  and  look  and  see.  It  is  to  do  good.  Abide  in 
Christ  and  bring  forth  fruit,  then  comes  the  joy,  and  you  can't  help 
yourself.  You  don't  make  the  joy.  It  simply  follows  after  a  certain 
cause,  and  I  defy  any  man  in  this  hall  to  go  off  and  do  something 
for  somebody,  comfort  them,  help  them,  any  one  whom  you  may 
meet  —  I  say,  I  defy  him  to  do  that  and  not  come  back  happier  and 
full  of  joy.  This  is  cause  and  effect,  and  any  one  can  get  joy  in  this 
way.  Abide  in  Christ,  be  in  His  presence,  and  you  shall  certainly 
have  fulness  of  joy.  These  things  have  I  spoken  unto  you  that  your 
joy  may  be  full.  Find  out  these  things,  and  the  joy  must  follow.' 

Then  follows  a  paragraph  or  two  on  the  same  thought,  applied  to 
the  gift  of  Rest  —  as  in  Pax  Vobiscum. 

'All  this  is  simple,  and  it  comes  to  a  Christian.  By  living  on  the 
Bread  of  Life  we  get  the  form  and  the  functions  of  the  Christian. 
Those  things  follow  .  .  .  and  make  your  lives  fair  and  lovely,  which 
is  the  Beauty  of  Holiness. 

*  You  know  how  healthy  and  full  of  vigour  you  feel  after  a  walk 
or  exercise.  So  it  is  after  spiritual  exercise,  doing  good  to  those 
around  you,  that  you  have  the  fulness  of  spiritual  health  and  vigour. 
But  while  each  grace  and  virtue  has  a  cause,  of  which  it  is  the  effect, 
yet  to  secure  them  we  must  go  back  to  the  source  —  which  is  Christ. 
As  you  know,  all  power  in  the  mechanical  world  is  from  the  sun. 
It  is  the  source  of  all  energy.  ...  So  also  all  the  energy  of  the 
Spiritual  Life  comes  from  the  Bread  of  Life,  which  is  Christ  Jesus. 
God  is  our  Sun. 

'  There  are  a  few  other  things  I  would  wish  to  say.  No  man 
liveth  or  worketh  for  himself.  Live  for  others.  Work  for  others. 
Work  unitedly  as  members  of  His  body.  This  at  once  brings  me 
to  the  social  character  of  the  members  of  Christ.  Let  there  be 
among  you  Christian  Solidarity.  The  man  who  goes  away  from  the 
world  and  shuts  himself  up  in  his  rooms  and  won't  come  and  join 
you  in  the  social  life  of  his  time  is  useless,  and  useless  things  die. 
Don't,  gentlemen,  don't  live  for  yourselves.  The  finger  is  not  use- 
less. Cut  it  off  and  place  it  on  the  table,  and  it  is  not  only  useless, 
but  ugly.  But  you  are  living;  you  must  be  useful  and  lovely.  Take 
away  any  member  from  the  body,  and  it  becomes  ugly.  Apart  from 
Christ  —  you  may  say  what  you  will  —  you  are  ugly,  and  you  are  use- 
less, and  you  will  die.  Watch  these  men  on  the  street  finishing 
those  figures  to  adorn  that  building.  How  foolish  the  pieces  look 


532  APPENDIX 

until  they  are  put  together  in  the  building,  until  they  become  part 
of  the  building.  A  solitary  Christian  life  is  an  anomaly.  You  are 
to  be  social,  joyful,  beautiful,  and  fresh  for  His  sake.  For  the 
body  has  for  its  Head  Jesus  Christ.  That  changes  life,  and  man  has 
a  new  tie  to  the  man  next  him,  because  they  are  both  members  of 
one  body  .  ,  .  each  in  its  own  place  with  its  own  work  to  do  for  the 
body.  And  the  hand  is  not  to  say  to  the  foot,  I  have  no  need  of  thee ; 
nor  the  ear  to  say  it  has  no  need  of  the  eye.  .  .  .  There  is  nothing, 
I  think,  of  more  comfort  than  that  we  are  all,  as  members  of  the 
body  of  Jesus  Christ,  of  some  use;  and  made  by  Him  especially  for 
His  work  in  the  world.  If  you  have  not  discovered  your  function, 
depend  upon  it,  that  is  something  out  of  the  ordinary.  .  .  .  There 
is  an  endless  variety  of  things  in  the  Christian  life.  One  says :  No, 
I  have  nothing  to  do.  I  say,  let  that  man  believe  he  has  something 
very  definite  to  do  as  a  member  of  the  Body.  Because  the  Head 
expects  it,  and  will  show  him  what  it  is. 

'  Gentlemen,  you  will  not  live  long  before  you  find  your  work  for 
Him.  Do  it  with  all  your  might.  Seek  first  the  kingdom  of  God 
and  His  righteousness.  I  have  said  it  so  often,  I  am  almost  ashamed 
to  repeat,  but  I  must.  It  is  this.  Do  your  seeking  thoroughly.  Be 
out  and  out  for  Christ.  It  is  far  away  easier.  I  have  the  most 
supreme  pity  for  the  man  who  is  an  amphibian,  a  sort  of  Dr.  Jekyl 
and  Mr.  Hyde  —  at  church  to-day,  to-morrow  with  the  world  —  a 
constant  struggle  to  get  back  the  life.  Some  men  think  it  is  easier 
to  do  so.  But  they  will,  I  hope,  live  to  discover  that  it  is  a  thou- 
sand times  easier  to  be  out  and  out  for  Him.  Go  in  for  His  service 
thoroughly.  Be  soldiers  of  the  Cross.  Be  completely  consecrated, 
as  you  have  sung  in  that  hymn  — 

"  Take  my  life,  and  let  it  be 
Consecrated,  Lord,  to  Thee !  " 

Reversion  to  the  old  man  and  his  life  will  be  impossible.  Not 
until  each  of  you  has  consecrated  his  whole  and  his  all  will  he  have 
any  chance  of  usefulness  or  joy  in  the  Christian  life. 

'  You  will  remember  what  is  said  in  Revelation  of  the  lukewarm, 
the  amphibian  —  Because  thou  art  neither  cold  nor  hot,  I  will  spue 
thee  out  of  my  mouth.  This  is  the  only  passage  in  which  words  of 
disgust  are  written  from  the  lips  of  Christ.  A  last  love,  a  dying 
man,  a  sacrifice  because  of  the  half-hearted !  /  would  thou  wert 
cold,  for  thy  sake,  but  especially  for  the  world's.  Why?  Because 
He  says  that  tepid  Christians  bring  the  world's  contempt  upon  Jesus 
Christ.  They  crucify  Him. 


ADDENDA  533 

'  Resolve  to-night  at  the  Table  of  the  Lord.  Make  an  oath  before 
Him  to  consecrate  your  lives  to  Him — a  living  sacrifice,  holy,  accept- 
able unto  God  which  is  your  reasonable  service.  You,  come  to  min- 
ister, not  to  be  ministered  unto.  For  me  to  live  is  Christ.  Don't, 
oh,  gentlemen,  I  beg  you,  don't  go  out  at  that  door  to-night  without 
Christ,  without  God,  without  hope  in  the  world.  Leave  the  past, 
forget  it,  and  come  to  Him  now:  men  consecrated  entirely  to 
Christ. 

'  The  harvest  is  past,  the  winter  is  gone,  and  yet  you  are  not  saved. 
You  will  look  back  over  years  to  this  night,  and  you  will  see  you 
missed  your  chance.  Have  no  fear,  lot  perfect  love  casteth  out  fear. 
Jesus  loves  you,  loves  you  all  with  an  everlasting  love.  If  you  are 
the  chiefest  among  sinners,  come  now  to  Him,  just  as  you  are,  and 
He  will  receive  you  gladly  and  cleanse  you  from  all  unrighteousness ! 

'  May  God  bless  and  elevate  this  University !  May  He  purify  it 
by  His  followers !  May  He  bind  together  a  band  of  men  who  shall 
go  forth  to  the  ends  of  the  earth  to  spend  their  lives  and  be  spent 
in  His  service.' 


APPENDIX   II 

ADDENDA 

SINCE  the  larger  part  of  this  biography  was  in  print,  papers  of 
Henry  Drummond,  and  recollections  of  him  by  others,  have  contin- 
ued to  reach  me.  They  contradict  nothing  that  has  been  recorded; 
for  the  most  part,  they  only  corroborate  this;  but  a  few  report  some 
facts  which  I  have  overlooked,  and  which  appear  important  enough 
to  demand  notice.  I  give  them  here,  with  references  to  the  relative 
pages. 

Pages  82,  91.  For  Dr.  Dale's  opinion  of  Moody  and  Sankey's 
Mission,  see  his  biography,  just  issued. 

Page  120,  line  8  from  bottom,  read  'in  the  Free  Church  of  Ayr.' 

Pages  i37ff.  Henry  Drummond  did  see  Holmes  after  all  —  on 
his  third  visit  to  America  in  1893.  To  his  delight,  the  old  man,  who 
was  then  eighty-four,  talked  'straight  on  for  an  hour  and  a  quarter, 
then  apologised  that  no  one  that  day  had  previously  called  to  "  run 
off  the  electricity."  He  says  he  usually  gets  ladies  to  call  first  and 
"  go  into  the  water  like  the  horses  to  take  the  electricity  off  the  elec- 
tric eels  before  the  men  come."  He  talked  of  all  the  Immortals  of 
New  England.' 


534  APPENDIX 

Pages  147  ff.  Henry  Drummond  has  left  notes  for  a  new  Preface 
to  Natural  Law  in  the  Spiritual  World.  These  make  it  clear  that 
he  meant  not  to  rewrite  the  Book,  but  in  the  Preface  to  qualify  a 
number  of  its  absolute  statements.  He  restates  more  guardedly  the 
physical  law  of  Biogenesis.  And  in  the  spiritual  sphere  he  says 
that  'any  suggestion  of  spiritual  birth  as  an  isolated  phenomenon  or 
unrelated  effect  is  to  be  taken  with  reserve.'  Cf.  pp.  157  and  463 
(the  quoted  paragraph). 

Pages  190  f.  It  should  have  been  stated  here  that  the  United 
Presbyterian  Church  has  a  share  in  the  Livingstonia  Mission  of  the 
Free  Church  of  Scotland.  Dr,  Laws,  the  head  of  the  Mission,  was 
a  member  of  the  former  Church,  and  is  supported  by  it. 

Page  224.  Here,  or  on  some  other  page  of  the  chapter  on  Henry 
Drummond' s  African  journey,  it  should  have  been  stated  that  the 
natives  called  him  by  a  name  which  signifies  'He  who  looks'  or 
'gazes';  whether  because  of  his  careful  scrutiny  of  minerals,  in- 
sects, etc.,  or  because  of  the  keenness  of  his  eyes  when  he  looked 
into  another  man's  face,  is  unknown. 

Page  237.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  Mr.  Campbell  Finlayson's 
very  able  reply  to  Natural  Law  reached  in  1895  a  third  (a  posthu- 
mous) edition :  London,  James  Clarke  and  Co. 

Page  380.     Yale  University,  Oct.  3,  1887. 

'I  spent  half-an-hour  with  Mark  Twain  at  his  own  house  [Hart- 
ford, Connecticut].  He  turned  on  the  gun  at  once,  and  is  really 
a  very  droll  creature.  He  speaks  just  like  his  books.  He  let  off 
several  jokes  which  would  have  printed  on  the  spot.  He  has  a 
reputation  for  great  kindness  to  all  who  need  help. 

'Next  door  to  him  I  found  Mrs.  Harriet  Beecher  Stowe  —  a  won- 
derfully agile  old  lady,  as  fresh  as  a  squirrel  still,  but  with  a  face 
and  air  like  a  lion's.  I  have  not  been  so  taken  with  any  one  on 
this  side  the  Atlantic. ' 


INDEX 


ABERDEEN,  Lord  and  Lady,  272,  280, 

283.299,  356>  45 »»  4&>. 

Letters   to,   273,   284  f.,   290  ff., 

307  f.,  331  ff.,  341,  372  f.,  375  f., 
387,  391,445,  448,  453  f. 
Aberdeen  Meeting  of  British  Associa- 
tion, 280. 

African  Lakes  Company,  191. 
Natives,  198. 

Native  Funeral,  206. 

Native  Service,  211-214. 
Alston,   Mr.  Carfrae,   President  Boys' 

Brigade,  480  n. 

America,  visit  to  (1879),  136-138,  chap, 
vii. 

— , (1887),  chap.  xii. 

Conference  of  Students  at  Northfield, 
368,  37».' 

Chautauqua,  368,  372,  373,  376. 

S.  Framingham,  Mass.,  372. 

Greenfield,  Mass.,  374. 

Niagara,  371,  373,  376. 

Clifton  Springs,  N.Y,  374. 

New  York,  375. 

Williamstown,  Mass.,  377. 

Dartmouth,  377. 

New  Brunswick,  377,  378, 

Washington,  378. 

Philadelphia,  378. 

Yale,  379. 

Harvard,  381. 

Wellesley,  381. 

H.  D.'s  visit  to  (1893),  45°  & 

Lowell  Lectures  in  Boston,  451. 

Dodge,  Mr.  W.  E,  451,  455. 

Boston,  451. 

Bridgman,  Mr.  Howard,  451  n. 

Amherst  University,  452. 

Northfield,  visits  to,  368,  371,  452. 

Canada,  fishing  in,  453. 

Quebec,  visit  to,  455. 


America,  Chicago  University,  455. 
M'Gill  University,  Montreal,  457. 
McGinn's  Magazine,  457. 

University  Extension  in,  370  ff. 

American  Association  for  the  Advance- 
ment of  Science,  368,  373,  374, 
Antelope-hunting,  184. 
Arran,  130,  166, 197, 295,  298,  340,  345. 
Ascent  of  Man,  298,  343,  351,  chap. 

xvii. 

Publication  of,  458  ff. 
Copyright  in  America,  458  n.,  465  n. 
Criticisms  of,  460-472;  by  Mr.  Ben- 
jamin Kidd,  468;  Prof.  Iverach, 
468;    Prof.    Alex.    MacAlister, 
465-469;     Mrs.    Lynn    Linton, 
460;  G.  S.  Carr,  461  n.;   Prof. 
M'Kendrick,    465-470;      Prof. 
Gairdner,    470;     Rev.    D.    M. 
Ross,  471  f. 

Associated  Workers'  League,  279, 305. 
Atonement,  The,  H.  D.'s  faith  in,  361. 
Australia,  visit  to,  386. 

Melbourne  University,  386. 
Melbourne  Student  Meetings,  394- 

397- 

Adelaide,  394. 

Sydney,  396,  397,  426. 

Queensland,  426. 

Queensland  Aborigines,  426. 

Importation  of  Kanakas  into  Queens- 
land, 426-431. 

Walker,  Rev.  John,  letter  to,  397. 

BAIN,  Rev.  James,  192,  202,  209,  218, 

219,  221,  387. 

Balfour,  Right  Hon.  A.  J.,  M.P.,  299. 
Bandawe   Mission    Station,   191,   208, 

222. 

Barbour,  Dr.  Hugh,  letters  to,  150,  282, 
327,  502. 


535 


536 


INDEX 


Barbour,  Mr.  George  F.,  death  of,  294. 
Barbour,  Robert  W.,  109,  294. 

Letters  to,  no,  125,  132,  133,  135, 

144,  145,  388. 
Letters  from,  270,  275,  281;  death 

of,  445,  446. 
Barnetson,  Mr.  (criticism  of  a  paper  of 

H.  D.'s),  53. 
Baxter's  Second  Innings,  by  H.  D.,  for 

Boys'  Brigade,  474. 
Beaver  dams,  186,  187. 
Beecher  Stowe,  Mrs.,  380. 
Biarritz,  500. 

Biblical  Criticism,  140,  chap.  x. 
Binnie,  Rev.  Dr.,  39. 
Blaikie,  Prof.,  45,  60. 
Blackwood,   Miss  Jane    (Mrs.   Drum- 

mond,  senior),  19. 
Mr.  James,  19. 
Blantyre    Mission    Station,    191,    200, 

222. 

Blathwayt,  Raymond  (quoted),  143  n. 
Bonn,  292,  342. 
Bonskeid,   Perthshire,    109,    124,  294, 

312. 

Students'  Conference  at,  349. 
Boulder,  Colorado,  168. 
Boys'  meetings  in  Edinburgh,  343  ff. 
Boys'  Brigade,  chap,  xviii. 
Origin  of,  479. 
Objects  of,  480,  483. 
Management  of,  480. 
Growth  of,  480,  492. 
Inspected  by  Lords  Wolseley  and 
Roberts,  Sir  D.  Stuart,  and  Gen. 
Chapman,  481. 
H.  D.'s  interest  in,  484. 
Article  upon,  477,  484-495. 
Religious  character  of,  489  f. 
Athletics  and  amusements,  492  f. 
Summer  camps,  494. 
Officers'    duties    and    opportunities, 

491,  493,  494. 
Official  heads  of,  480. 
In  Australia,  317,  484. 
In  United  States,  484. 
In  Canada,  484. 

Addresses  in  America  on,  451,  455. 
British  Association,  Aberdeen  Meeting, 
280. 


Brodrick,  W.  St.  John,  M.P.,  299. 
Browning,     Robert,     308,    317,     319, 

387  n. 

Bruce,  Prof.  A.  B.,  134. 
Bushnell,  Mrs.,  380. 
Butcher,  Prof.,  320. 

CAIRNS,  Prof.,  60,  65. 
Cambusbarron  Mission,  19,  39. 
Calderwood,  Prof.,  32,  60,  320. 
Canal    Boatmen's    Institute,    Glasgow 

(Friend  Society) ,  496. 
Officials  of,  497  n. 

Candlish,  Prof.  James,  134,  140,  502. 
Canyons,  170,  173,  174,  183. 
Cathcart,  Dr.,  325. 
Charteris,    Prof.,    60,    320,   325,   340, 

345- 

Chautauqua,  295,  368,  370  ff.,  452. 
Chicago    University  Summer    School, 

370,  455- 

Exhibition,  451,  455. 

China,  434-436. 

Inland  Mission,  320. 

Christian,  The,  letter  from  H.  D.  to, 

348. 

Christlieb,  Prof.,  341. 
Church,  Dr.  H.  M.  (reminiscence),  38. 
Church  of  Scotland,  General  Assembly 

of,  280. 

Blantyre  Mission,  191,  200,  222. 
City  without  a  Church,  450. 
Cochin  China,  430. 
Congregationalist,  The,  384,  45 in. 
Crerar,  Rev.  T.,  reminiscences,  23  n., 

29,  30- 

Crieff,  27-28. 
Curzon,  George  N.,  M.P.,  299,  331. 

DARWIN,  reference  to,  47,  149. 
Davidson,  Prof.  A.  B.,  44-47,  112. 
Dax,  500. 
Denney,    Prof.     James    (criticism    of 

Natural  Law),  155. 
Depew,   Hon.   Chauncey,    speech    on 

Student  Movement,  382. 
Diary  of  African  Travel,  in  chap.  viii. 
Dods,  Dr.  Marcus,  134,  143,  310. 
Douglas,  Dr.  Carstairs,  46. 
Douglas,  Principal,  127,  134,  268,  327. 


INDEX 


537 


Drummond  Family,  18-20. 

Henry,  senior,  18,  19 ;  illness  and 
death  of,  296  f. 

William  (H.  D.'s  grandfather),  153. 

David  (H.  D.'s  uncle),  letter  10,441. 
Drummond,  Henry  — 

Early  years,  18  ff. 

School  life,  21-29. 

Student  life  in  Edinburgh,  chaps.  iL, 
iii.,  and  v. 

Early  writings,  28,  31-37,  46,  53. 

Preparation  for  ministry,  chap.  iii. 

First  interest  in  Natural  Science,  31, 
46,  54. 

At  Tubingen,  51,  52. 

Missionary  in  Edinburgh,  56,  67. 

Work  in  Great  Mission,  1873-75, 
101-108. 

Lectureship  on  Natural  Science  in 
Free  Church  College,  Glasgow, 
126,  130;  in  Malta,  132;  pro- 
fessorship, 265. 

Visit  to  Rocky  Mountains,  chap.  vii. 

Publication  of  Natural  Law,  161- 
164. 

Travel  in  Africa,  chap.  viii. 

Grosvenor  House  meetings,  274  ff. 

Offered  Shipping  Commission  Secre- 
taryship, 268  n. 

Political  life,  283-289. 

Visit  to  Ireland,  285. 

Requested  to  stand  for  Parliament, 
287. 

Student  meetings,  chap.  xii. 

Second  visit  to  America,  chap.  xiii. 

Visit  to  Australia,  chap.  xiv. 

New  Hebrides,  chap.  xv. 

Third  visit  to  America,  450  ff. 

Publication  of  Ascent  of  Man,  457. 

Boys'  Brigade,  chap,  xviii. 

The  end,  chap.  xix. 
Dublin    Y.M.C.A.    Convention,    273; 

Trinity  College,  285. 
Duns,  Prof.,  45,  130,  264. 

Ecce  Homo,  339,  351. 
Edinburgh  University,  matriculation  at, 
29. 

conditions  of,  30. 

professors  at,  31,  32. 


Edinburgh  University,  Philomathic  So- 
ciety, 3 1,32;  Magazine,  33. 

Chair  of  Geology  and  Mineralogy, 

189. 

Tercentenary,  319. 

Students'  Meetings,  chap.  xii. 

Settlements,  343,  345. 

Eighty- Eight  Club,  305;  Magazine  of, 

305. 

Emerson,  R.  W.,  295,  381. 
Episcopalian  Missions,  66  n. 
Evolution  and  Revelation,  chap.  x. 
Ewing,  J.  F.,  51,  71, 385,  386,  389-394; 

letter  to,  93. 
Expositor,  Articles  in,  by  H.  D.,  244- 

256. 

FAIRBAIRN,  Principal,  372. 

Finlayson,  Mr.  Campbell,  criticism  of 

Natural  Law,  232. 

First,  by  H.  D.,  for  Boys'  Brigade,  474. 
Fiske,  Mr.,  381. 

Foote,  Capt.,  R.N.  (at  Mandala),  224. 
Fossils  in  Central  Africa,  218-221. 
Fotheringham,  Mr.,  reminiscences,  24, 

25,  39- 

Free  Church  of  Scotland,  43  ff.,  266. 
professorships  of  Natural  Science 

in,  129  ff. 

General  Assembly  (1883),  264. 

General  Assembly  (1884),  265. 

Rite  of  ordination,  265. 

New  College,  43  ff. 

GAIETY  CLUB,  116,  117,  144,  274,  285, 

496. 
Gairdner,  Sir  William,  325 ;  opinion  of 

Ascent  of  Man,  471. 
Gardiner  River,  Yellowstone,  171-174. 
Geikie,  Prof.  Archibald,  50,  127,  130, 

321;    reminiscences,    10,    188- 

189;  letter  to,  167,  189;  travel 

with,  chap.  vii. 
Geological  Observations  — 
In  Yellowstone,  170-188. 
In  Africa,  194,  203,  211  f.,  218. 
In  New  Hebrides,  405,  406, 408. 
Geysers,  observations  of,  171-183. 
Gilbert,  Mr.,  secretary  Canal  Boatmen's 

Institute,  497. 


538 


INDEX 


Gladstone,  Mr.,  article  in  Nineteenth 
Century,   256,   283;    letter    to, 
from  H.  D.,  288. 
Glasgow,  Free   Church  College,   127- 

130. 

Lectureship  in,  127,  130. 
Professorship  in,  265. 
Colleagues  at,  134. 
Glasgow  University  Settlements,  309, 

314,  496. 

Theological  Club,  160,  229. 
Possilpark  Mission,  134,  139,  145  f. 
Renfield  Free  Church,  134. 
Boys'  Brigade,  chap,  xviii. 
Canal  Boatmen's  Institute,  496. 
H.  D.'s  home  in,  446. 
Good  Words,  article  by  H.  D.  on  Boys' 

Brigade,  477,  484  ff. 
Grant,  Sir  Alexander,  319. 
Greenfield,  Dr4  320,  325,  345,  375, 

378;  letters  to,  330,  337. 
Grosvenor  House  addresses,  272-279. 
second  series,  299-305. 

HADDO  House,  280,  312,  446. 

Association,  281. 

Haeckel,  History  of  Creation,  quoted, 

259  n. 

Hamilton,  Sir  Robert,  286. 
Harkiss,  Mr.,  202,  205. 
Harvard  University,  381,  451. 
Hay,  Dr.,  325,  327. 
Hayden,  Prof.,  167. 
Hedderwick,  Mr.  (Blantyre),  193,  200, 

223. 

Helmholtz,  von,  319. 
Henderson,  Mr.  (Blantyre),  193,  200, 

223. 

High  School,  20. 
Higher  Education  of  Women,  H.  D.'s 

views  on,  298. 
Hinton,  James,  236. 
Hippopotami,  202. 
Holmes,  Oliver  Wendell,  138. 
Home  Reading  Union,  317. 

Rule,  283-289. 

Huxley,    Prof.    (Lay   Sermons),  150, 

250. 
article    in   Nineteenth    Century, 

256. 


Inner-Afrika,  194  n. 
Ireland,  283. 

JAPAN,  432,  434,  437. 
Java,  430. 

KEDDIE,  Mr.  126,  130. 
Kelman,  Rev.  John  (Leith),  58. 

LAIDLAW,  Dr.,  291. 

Laveleye,  de,  319. 

Laws,  Dr.  (Bandawe),  203,  208,  211, 

222. 
Lenormant,  Les  Origines  de  VHistoire, 

261  n. 

Lesseps,  Count  de,  319. 
Lindsay,  Prof.  T.  M.,  134. 
Livingstone,  David,  190. 
Livingstonia  Mission,  176-190. 
Longfellow,  138,  295,  381. 
Lowell,  Russell,  319,  381. 
Lucas,  Mr.  W.,  386  n. 
Lyttelton,  Mr.  Alfred,  299. 

MACDONALD,  GEORGE  (quotation),  259, 

3i7»  355>  388. 

Mackintosh,  Rev.  Robert,  314. 
Maclagan,  Prof.  Sir  Douglas,  320. 
Macphail,  Dr.  James  M.  (letter  from), 

325- 

Madison  River,  183,  186. 
Malta,  132. 
Mandala,  200,  224. 
Mark  Twain,  380. 
Marsh,  Prof.  376. 
M'Culloch,  Rev.  J.  H.,  reminiscences, 

23  n.,  33.  38»  39  n->  5& 
M'Kendrick,  Prof.,  325. 
M'Murtrie,  Mr.,  quoted,  60,  65. 
Mesmerism,  paper  on,  by  H.  D.,  33. 
Mission,  The  Great  (1873-75),  chap.  iv. 

Liverpool,  58,  83,  88-91. 

York,  58. 

Newcastle,  58,  71. 

Sunderland,  58,  71-75. 

Edinburgh,  59-69. 

Supporters  in  Edinburgh,  60. 

Glasgow,  63-70. 

Supporters  in  Glasgow,  65. 

Greenock,  63. 


INDEX 


539 


Mission,  The  Great,  Stirling,  64. 

Perth,  64. 

Dundee,  64. 

Aberdeen,  64. 

Inverness,  64,  70. 

Oban,  64. 

Campbeltown,  64. 

Rothesay,  64,  77. 

Student  workers  in,  67,  69. 

South  Shields,  71,  76. 

Bishop  Auckland,  71. 

Hartlepool,  71,  73. 

Hexham,  71,  75. 

Morpeth,  71. 

Belfast,  77. 

Londonderry,  77,  78. 

Dublin,  79-82. 

Sympathy  from  Episcopalians  in  Ire- 
land, 80 ;  and  from  Roman 
Catholics,  80. 

Manchester,  82-85. 

Sheffield,  82,  85,  86. 

Birmingham,  82,  87. 

London,  91-97. 

General  results  of,  97-101. 

H.  D.'s  special  work  in,  96,  100-108; 
and  its  effect  on  his  character, 
100-108. 
Missions,  Address  on  Foreign,  by  H.  D., 

432  ft. 

Moir,  Mr.  and  Mrs.,  200,  218,  224. 
Moncrieff,  Sir  Henry,  131. 
Moody,   D.    L.,   chap,   iv.,   368,   373; 
estimate  of  H.  D.'s  character,  8, 
9;    letter  from,  112;    visits  to, 
138,  I44-I47.  45 I- 

and  Sankey,  Second  Mission,  144. 

Morison's  Academy,  Crieff,  27-29. 

Morley,  Mr.  John,  285. 

Mount  Washburne,  Yellowstone,  173, 

175- 

Moxey,  Dr.,  320. 
Muir,  Sir  William,  324,  345. 
Munro  Ferguson,  Mr.  R.,  M.P.,  299. 

Mr.,  238. 

Murray,  Mr.,  W.S.,  277. 

Natural  Law  in  the  Spiritual  World, 

148-164. 
Publication  of,  161-164. 


Natural  Law  in  the  Spiritual  World, 
first  news  of  its  success,  221. 

Its  fame,  chap.  ix. 

Criticisms,  237. 

Fame  abroad,  240. 

Translations,  240. 
New  College,  Edinburgh,  43. 
Hebrides,  397,  399,  chap.  XT. 

Missionaries,  chap.  xv.  passim. 

Aneityum,  mission  in,  403. 

Futuna,  404. 

Tanna,  406. 

Volcanoes,  408-411,  418. 

Eromanga,  411,  424,  425. 

Efate,  41 1  n.,  420,  \">J\, 

Fila,  mission  in,  411. 

Tongoa,  413,  424. 

Natives  in  New  Hebrides,  405,  410, 
411,  413 ff.,  421. 

Malokolo,  420. 

Climate  of,  423. 

Products  of,  421. 

Mission  in,  436. 

Newman,  Mr.  George,  353  ff.,  and  Ap- 
pendix. 

Mr.,  161  n. 

New  York  World,  extract  from,  382. 
Nineteenth    Century,    article    in,    by 

H.  D.,  244,  256-262,  282. 
Northcote,  Sir  Stafford,  319. 
Noumea,  New  Caledonia,  425. 
Nyasa  Lake,  190,  204. 

ORDINATION,  RITE  OF,  265. 
Orphans'  Home,  Leominster,  161. 
Oxford,  mission  to  undergraduates,  330- 

339- 

Fremantle,  Canon,  334. 
Liddell,  Dean  and  Mrs.,  333,  334. 
Broughton,  Miss  Rhoda,  334. 
Jowett,  Mr.,  334,  356. 
Talbot,  Mr.  (Warden  of  Keble,  1885), 

letter  from,  336. 
Anson,  Sir  William,  331. 
Holland,  Scott,  Canon,  331,  334,  336. 
Girdlestone,  Canon,  331. 
Butler,  Rev.  A.  G.,  331,  334,  336. 
Percival,  Canon,  331,  334. 
Christopher,  Rev.  Mr.,  331. 
Munro,  Mr.  (Provost  of  Oriel),  331. 


540 


INDEX 


Oxford,  Broderick,  Hon.  George  (War- 
den of  Merton),  331. 

Fowler,  Mr.  Thomas  (President  of 
Corpus),  331. 

Bryce,  Prof.,  331,  334. 

Pelham,  Mr.,  331. 

PARTICK  Division  of  Lanarkshire,  287. 

Paterson,  A.  S.,  44,  225. 

Pax  Vobiscum,  439. 

Peabody,    Prof.  Francis,  letter    from, 

384. 

Perth  Conference,  272. 
Pleasant  Sunday  Afternoons,  496. 
Pomalombe,  Lake,  204. 
Programme  of  Christianity,  351. 

QUA-QUA  River,  194,  195,  224. 
Quarry,  Genesis,  262  n. 
Quilimame,  East  Africa,  193,  224. 

RAINY,  Principal,  60,  114,  131,  319. 
Ramblers'  Alliance,  West  of  Scotland, 

496. 

Red  Indians,  166,  170,  173,  186. 
Reith,  Rev.  George,  ordination  charge, 

267. 

Rentoul,  Prof.,  426. 
Revelation  and  Evolution,  chap.  x. 
Rocky  Mountains,  138. 

Travel  in,  chap.  vii. 

Diary,  170-188. 
Ross,  Rev.  D.  M.,  44,  51,  113. 

Letters  to,  132,  390. 

Criticism  of  Ascent  of  Man,  470. 
Ruskin,  308. 
Russell,  Mr.  George  W.,  299. 

SAFFI,  Count,  319. 

Sankey,  Ira  D.,  chap,  iv.;  letter  to,  444. 

Schools  in  Scotland,  20. 

Science  and  Religion,  chap.  vi. 

Scott,  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Livingstonia,  193, 

202,  223. 
Shanghai,  430. 
Shearer,  Mr.  and  Mrs.,  African  Lakes 

Company,  193. 
Shire  Highlands,  Africa,  191. 

River,  196  ff.,  224. 

Simpson,  Mr.  R.  R.,  106  n. 


Simpson,  Prof.    A.    R.,    recollections, 

108  n.,  no,  126  n. 
Pamphlet  by,  319  n.,  377,  378. 
Letter  to,  498. 
To  Mrs.  Simpson,  279. 
Sinclair,  Captain,  289,  299,  375,  449. 
Singapore,  430. 
Slave  trade,  191,  226. 
Smith,  Mr.  G.  P.,  325,  342,  378. 

Mr.  W.  A.,  Boys'  Brigade,  479. 

Smith,  Prof.  Robertson,  43,  116,  131, 

139-142. 

Stanley,  320. 

Spectator  review  of  Natural  Law,  221, 

228,  232. 

Spencer,  Lord,  286. 
Stalker,  Dr.  James,  recollections,  53, 

68-71,  103,  470  n. 

Steele,  Sir  Richard,  quotation  from,  1 7. 
Steven,  Rev.  G.,  113. 
Stevenson,  Mr.  James,  192,  209,  264. 

letters  to,  267,  268. 
Stewart,  Dr.  (Lovedale),  190,  208,  209. 

Mr.  James,  death  of,  208,  212. 

Grainger,  Sir  Thomas,  301,  320, 

325- 

Stirling,  18,  24,  28,  503. 
Stuart,  Mr.  and  Mrs.,  letters  to,  118- 

121,  122,  I3S-I38,  147,    192. 

Studd,  C.  T.,  320. 

Student  Movement  in  Edinburgh,  chap. 

xii. 
Meetings  in  Oddfellows'  Hall,  322- 

324»  338,  343.  345-35°.  448. 
H.  D.'s  addresses  to  students,  350- 

366,  and  Appendix. 
Deputation  of  students,  282. 

Holiday   Mission,  295,  327-329, 

340,  344. 

Meetings,  in  Edinburgh,  293,  298, 

342  ff.,  345,  497. 
Aberdeen,  325. 
Glasgow,  325,  338. 
Oxford,  330-339. 
America,  295,  chap.  xiii. 
Australia,  316. 
Germany,  342. 
Sutherlandshire,  fishing,  280,  289,  305, 

311,446,496. 
Swedenborg,  236. 


INDEX 


541 


Switzerland,  visits  of  H.  D.  to,  290  ff., 
306  ff. 

TANGANYIKA  Lake,  192,  209,  215,  217. 

Thomson,  Peter,  44,  112. 

Times  of  Blessing  (quoted),  66  n.,  80  n. 

translations  of,  240. 

Tropical  Africa,  194,   194  n.,   198  n., 

201  n.,  205  n.,  210,  214  f.,  221  n., 

226  n. 

Tsetse  fly,  202. 
Tunbridge  Wells,  500. 
Tyndall,  Prof.,  150. 

UNIVERSITY    Extension    in    America, 

37°- 

settlements  in  Glasgow,  309,  314. 

in  Edinburgh,  343,  345. 


VIRCHOW,  319. 

WATSON,  Rev.  John,  22,  25,  44. 
Welldon,  J.  E.  C.,  299. 
Wellesley  College,  U.S.A.,  381. 
Westminster  Confession  of  Faith,  266. 
Whyte,  Dr.  Alexander,  340. 
Wilson,  Dr.  Claude,  500. 
World,  The,  article  on  Grosvenor  House 
meetings,  275. 

YELLOWSTONE,  the,  170-188. 

ZAMBEZI,     article     on,    by    H.    D., 

298  n. 

,  190,  224 

Zockler,  Dr.  Otto,  criticism  of  Natural 

Law,  242. 


